U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said the U.S. supports Ukraine’s strikes on Russian military installations in annexed Crimea. She stated this, speaking on February 16 via video link at the Carnegie Center.
“Russia has built a lot of military installations in Crimea, these are legitimate targets that Ukraine is striking at, and we support this. Ukraine will not be safe until Crimea is at least demilitarized,” Nuland said.
She added that even after the end of the war, the United States will continue to provide military assistance to Ukraine, since there is no certainty that Russia will not resume the conflict.
On the same day, during a briefing at the State Department, Victoria Nuland said that the United States supports Ukraine’s desire to return all its territories seized by Russia. “Ukraine is fighting for the return of all its lands within international borders. We support them, including in preparing the next offensive to take back their territory,” Nuland said.
During the briefing, the deputy head of the State Department also said that Russia lost more than 200 thousand people during the year of the invasion, who died or were injured in battle. Earlier in February, The New York Times also reported that, according to US and other Western officials, Russian losses approached 200,000 people.
source: meduza
