Washington [US], May 23 : Stressing the fact that the United States does not approve of the use of Western weapons to strike Russian territory, the State Department Spokesperson said on Monday that it is important to remind everyone that, of course, it was Russia that started this war.
"It's important to take a step back and remind everyone, remind the world that, of course, it's Russia that launched this war, it is Russia that continues to launch attacks on civilians in Ukraine. And it is Russia that is bombing schools, hospitals and civilian infrastructure," the US State Department spokesperson responded during a regular press briefing to a media query on US weapons being used on Russian territory.
Speaking further on the ongoing Ukraine conflict, he said President Joe Biden has made very clear that Washington will begin training the Ukrainian military to pilot F16 jets.
"The President (Joe Biden) has made it very clear that we will begin training the Ukrainian military in F-16 piloting and will work with our allies and partners to provide Ukraine with F-16 jets," the State Department official said.
"I don't have any announcements about when and how that will happen or what countries it (the provision of F-16s) will come from but it is a priority to us. And we will begin to implement that in the coming months," he added.
"It is upto Ukraine to decide on how they want to conduct its military operations but it is Russia that has been the aggressor in this war," the States Department official said further.
The formation of an international alliance of nations to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, such as the F-16s, was announced by the United Kingdom last week.
The US and its partners will negotiate when and how many more fighter planes Ukraine would receive in the coming months, the White House also said earlier.
The Russia-Ukraine war that started on February 24, 2022, has taken numerous lives and the war continues to escalate between the two nations even now.
To ensure a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine, the G7 members during the recent Summit in Hiroshima, Japan have urged Russia to stop its ongoing aggression and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops and military equipment from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine.
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