US 'Neither Encouraged Nor Enabled' Ukraine To Strike Inside Putin's Territory, Says Blinken After Russia Claims Another Airbase Strike

The U.S. secretary of state said Washington has neither encouraged nor enabled Kyiv to strike inside Russia after Moscow blamed Ukraine for the third airbase attack in two days. 

What Happened: Antony Blinken, at a news conference with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defense Minister Richard Marles, on Tuesday repeated the Biden administration's determination to make sure Ukraine has the equipment it needs to defend itself.

“The important thing is to understand what Ukrainians are living through every day with the ongoing Russian aggression against their country, and our determination to make sure they have in their hands, along with many other partners around the world, the equipment that they need to defend themselves and their territory,” Blinken said.

See Also: Elon Musk Prefers ‘Magical, Simple Solutions:' Zelenskyy Advisor Says ‘Good Intentions Necessarily Pave Road To Putin's…Hell'

The second strike came a day after Moscow alleged that Ukrainian drones struck two air bases deep inside its territory and destroyed warplanes. 

Although, Kyiv did not directly claim responsibility for any of the drone strikes.

On Tuesday, Russian officials in the city of Kursk – around 90 km (60 miles) north of the Ukraine border – released pictures of black smoke above an airfield. After the drone strike, the governor said an oil storage tank had gone up in flames but no casualties were reported.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, said that Ukraine continued to shell the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, deliberately creating the threat of a possible nuclear catastrophe, reported Reuters.

Check out more of Benzinga’s Europe and Asia coverage by following this link.