The White House announced Thursday morning that the United States does not regret the killing of a large number of Russian military personnel. With a missile strike carried out by the Ukrainian army on New Year’s Eve.
The US presidential statement came hours later Russia announced that 89 of its soldiers were killed on New Year’s Eve in a Ukrainian missile strike I targeted them in Makevka in eastern Ukraine.
“There is no regret on the part of the (US) administration. This is war. (Ukrainians) have been invaded and they are fighting back and defending themselves,” John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, told reporters at the White House.
Kirby did not comment on the death toll announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense, while the Ukrainian army confirmed that the death toll was much greater than what Moscow announced, amounting to 400 dead and 300 wounded.
A spokesman for the US National Security Council stressed that “Russian military personnel present on the territory of Ukraine are a legitimate target for any military action carried out by Ukraine. Point on the line.”
For Kirby, who was himself a senior officer in the US Navy, the Ukrainian missile strike targeted an area experiencing “heavy fighting. War is a bloody issue.”
The US official refused to comment on what the Russian army reported that the Ukrainian strike was carried out by “HIMARS” missiles that Washington recently sent to Kyiv.
But he said, “We are providing (Ukrainians) and we will continue to provide them with the equipment and assistance they need to defend themselves. And yes, we have provided them with HIMARS and we can provide more in the future.”