What Does “As Long As It Takes” Mean? Now We Know.  

Will The United States Authorize, Support, Look The Other Way If Ukraine Attacks Into Territory Of The Russian Federation- What Is Occupied And What Isn’t Occupied? 

Officially No And Yes.  Unofficially Maybe. 

Officially Off-The-Record: “We Can’t Stop Them And They Know It.”

According to the Joint Strategic Oversight Plan for Ukraine Response report from the United States Department of Defense, Ukraine-related spending in 2022 was US$62.3 billion on weapons, ammunition, training, logistics, supplies, salaries and stipends.  The United States Department of State and United States Agency for International Development spent US$46 billion for activities ranging from border security to funds for basic government services (utilities, hospitals, schools, firefighting).  Other United States government agencies, including the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) spent another US$5 billion.

Senior Biden-Harris Administration (2021- ) Official: “We will continue to try to impress upon them [government of Ukraine] that we can’t do anything and everything forever” with “very strong view” that maintaining funding levels will be challenging with the 118th United States Congress.  “’As long as it takes’ pertains to the amount of conflict.  It doesn’t pertain to the amount of assistance.”

Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine: “We always tell our partners officially that we will not use weapons supplied by foreign partners to fire on Russian territory.  We only fire on Russian units on temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory.” Underline added.

Mykhailo Podolyak, Advisor to Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine: “Regardless of Ukraine, internal military escalation in Russia is imminent, and there will be strikes on different targets.  What targets will be struck, by whom, and what for- that’s another question.  But we cannot discuss it now, given the shortage of public information.  Ukraine is not conducting strikes on Russian territory.  Nevertheless, military escalation inside Russia is inevitable.  As part of it, cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and others- those lazy, coddled cities convinced that they inhabit a different reality- will be affected too.  But this escalation will be Russia’s internal problem.”  He added: “The logic of war” means “various blows will be dealt to various targets.  The war “will move completely and totally to the Russian territory, and will be conducted not so much by means of Ukrainian military as by internal means related to protest.”  

Dimitri Peskov, Spokesperson for Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation:  “It’s evident that the Kyiv regime stops at nothing, which confirms once again the correctness of the path chosen, and of our intention to protect ourselves from this danger.  This continues the Kremlin’s consistent pattern of presenting the war as a forced measure, countering the threats presented by Kyiv, the U.S., and NATO.”

Question Submitted: “Has The White House placed any constraints, prohibitions upon the armed forces of Ukraine using any equipment provided and to be provided (already announced) by NATO-member country governments for operations by the armed forces of Ukraine conducted into and onto the territory of Belarus and/or the territory of the Russian Federation?” 

• From the United States Department of Defense: “I encourage you to review the transcripts of the Ukraine-related media engagements over the past year where DOD officials have addressed this topic: www.defense.gov/news/transcripts.  The U.S. is not alone supporting Ukraine. More than 40 countries have provided security assistance to Ukraine since the invasion began. I refer you to our Allies and partners to speak to their own contributions and/or prohibitions on use. Ukraine has repeatedly committed to employ U.S.-provided weapons responsibly and strategically when needed to counter Russian aggression, and we are confident that will continue to be the case. Ultimately, the Ukrainians are making the final decisions for their operations.”

• John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council (NSC) at The White House: “We are neither encouraging nor enabling Ukraine to hit targets in Russia.”

United States Department of State
Washington DC
18 January 2023

QUESTION: Over the course of the last year, has the U.S. ever put limits on where Ukraine can or cannot use their weapons? Have they been allowed to use those weapons to attack Russians in the Crimean Peninsula or in Crimea?

MR NED PRICE, SPOKESPERSON: We are, of course, not making targeting decisions on behalf of our Ukrainian partners. These decisions are up to them… We have provided our Ukrainian partners with precisely what they need to take on the threat where it is raging most violently… Now, what we have not done, we have neither encouraged nor enabled our Ukrainian partners to strike beyond their borders [emphasis added]. Everything we are providing to Ukraine is for a singular purpose, and that’s for its self-defense…. So we are not calling the shots when it comes to targeting. We are – and when I say “we,” in this case it’s our Department of Defense counterparts – they are in constant conversation with our Ukrainian partners about the dynamics, about the systems that would be appropriate for the threat that Ukraine is facing at each moment during the course of this invasion. But ultimately, it is up to our Ukrainian partners to determine how – how best, where – to use these weapons and supplies to defend their sovereign territory.  NOTE: Mr. Price subsequently shared in response to a question- “I said the same thing in December [2022] at the podium. Believe it was around December 6.” 

United States Department of State
Washington DC
18 January 2023

QUESTION: Right. Thanks, Ned. On the Ukraine tanks – and I’m not really expecting that you’ll have a whole lot more to add than – to what the Pentagon and the White House and the President have already said.  But I just wanted to know if the U.S. has placed conditions on the supply of Abrams tanks.  In other words, is it okay with you guys if the – if – when the Ukrainians get these tanks, for them to roll over into Crimea?  Is it okay for them to roll over the border into Belarus, into Russia?  Or have you told them, no, you can only use these when you get them – this is just the Abrams; I’m not talking about the other ones.

MR NED PRICE, SPOKESPERSON: Sure. So, Matt, on every single element of security assistance we’ve provided, there has been one and really only one condition placed on it. That is the fact that everything we’ve provided is for Ukraine’s self-defense.  Everything we have provided is to enable our Ukrainian partners to take on, effectively and successfully, the Russian aggression – the Russian invaders that have crossed internationally recognized borders to be on sovereign Ukrainian territory.  That is the case with today’s latest announcements – latest announcement of Abrams tanks.  It’s the case with every other system we have provided going back to the elements that we provided prior to February 24th of last year: the Stingers, the Javelins, the anti-air, anti-armor systems that are also defensive in nature.  Everything we have provided is with that in mind.  Our Ukrainian partners know that.  They respect that.  And when it comes to what they pursue, when they pursue, and how they pursue it on their own sovereign territory, that is absolutely their decision. DOD, of course, has an active dialogue with the Ukrainian military and their counterparts about how most effectively to take on Russian invaders, but these are sovereign decisions on the part of the Ukrainian Government regarding where, when, and how to strike back at Russian forces who are on their sovereign territory.

QUESTION: Okay. And just – just to make clear, the use of allied weapons by Ukraine into Crimea is not prohibited?  Because you still – you consider Ukraine – I mean Crimea to be part of Ukraine. So that would be – so that would be defensive?

MR PRICE: Most importantly, first of all, Crimea is Ukraine.  That has been our position since 2014. That is our position now.  That will be our position going forward.  That will never change.  When it comes to the security assistance we are providing, that has of course evolved over time.  I don’t need to offer a reminder of that, as President Biden just today announced the provision of a new capability.  We have been responsive to the discussion we’ve had with our Ukrainian partners, a discussion that is predicated on what they need and when they need it.  So of course we are providing them with the systems they need to confront Russian invaders and aggressors where the battle is now.  Right now, the battle is in the Donbas, the battle is in the east.  The capability that we’re talking about today will enable our Ukrainian partners, will provide them another capability that they can use to take on Russian invaders in this part of their sovereign territory, just as we provided other systems that will help them do the same.

The White House
Washington DC
25 January 2023

Background Press Call By Senior Biden-Harris Administration Officials: “On U.S. Support To Ukraine: “And like I said many times before, we don't tell the Ukrainians where to strike, where to attack, where to conduct offensive operations.  That’s -- these are their decisions to make, but we want to make sure that they have the right capabilities to not only defend themselves against the Russian onslaught -- and we do expect that Mr. Putin and the Russian military will try to go on the offense here in coming weeks and months as the weather gets better -- but also that they had the ability to retake and to reclaim their sovereign territory.  And that means everything that is recognized by international borders.” 

Question: Well, that would include Crimea?  “Again, we've -- we've long said, Andrea, Crimea is Ukraine.  Crimea is Ukraine.  We've never recognized the illegal annexation of Russia -- of Crimea.  But where the Ukrainians decide to go and how they decide to conduct operations in their country, those are their decisions to make.”

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