U.S. Condemns Russia's 'Deplorable' Attack On Ukraine, Pledges More Aid

The United States on Tuesday strongly condemned Russia's 'deplorable' attack on the Ukrainian city of Poltava that killed at least 51 people, pledging to provide more air defense systems, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"I condemn this deplorable attack in the strongest possible terms," President Joe Biden said in a late night statement, calling the assault "a tragic reminder of Putin’s ongoing and outrageous attempts to break the will of a free people."

"But for two and a half years, the people of Ukraine have stood unbowed. And the United States will continue to stand with them—including providing the air defense systems and capabilities they need to protect their country," Biden noted.
 
"Make no mistake: Russia will not prevail in this war. The people of Ukraine will prevail. And on this tragic day, and every day, the United States stands with them," he concluded.

Biden's statement came as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated his appeal to Western allies on Tuesday looking for longer-range munitions and asking nations to ease restrictions on what Ukraine can target on Russian soil with the weapons provided.

“Granting Ukraine these approvals and providing us with this weaponry would be the biggest step toward a real, just end to this war,” Zelenskyy said on his social media accounts.

The U.S. made a policy change in May that allows Ukrainian commanders to fire American weapons into Russia for the limited purpose of defending the northeastern city of Kharkiv. “I’ve made it clear … what we support and don’t support,” Biden told TURAN's correspondent on Monday when asked about lifting weapons restrictions.

State Department's spokesperson Matthew Miller on Tuesday did not have any policy changes to announce, however, he told a daily briefing that Washington continued to "remain flexible and look at changes in the battlefield and adapt and adjust our policy when necessary."

"Russia does not have a free hand," Miller said when pressed by TURAN's correspondent.
"We continue to supply Ukraine with air-defense systems... If – you might recall the question that you were asking me a number of times over the summer, why don’t you do more to provide Ukraine with air-defense systems, and then at the NATO summit we announced the provision of a number of air systems that have been – air-defense systems that have been put in place to defend Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine.  We continue to supply Ukraine with other equipment that it can use to push back on Russian military assaults, and that’ll continue to be our policy," Miller elaborated.