White House puts Russian attack on Kyiv on a par with drone strikes on Russian oil refineries
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt has responded to Russia’s overnight attack on Ukraine by mentioning Ukraine’s strikes on oil refineries in Russia and said that perhaps "both sides" are not ready to end the war.
Source: Leavitt at a press briefing, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Leavitt said she had talked to US President Donald Trump about the latest Russian attack and "he was not happy about this news, but he was also not surprised".
Quote: "It is about two countries that have been at war for a very long time. Russia launched this attack on Kyiv, and likewise, Ukraine recently dealt a blow to Russia's oil refineries. They have taken out, as a matter of fact, 20% of Russia’s oil refinery capacity over the course of their attacks throughout the month of August."
More details: Leavitt also said that Trump "is continuing to watch this intently" and wants to end the war to stop people being killed.
Quote: "But perhaps both sides of this war are not ready to end it themselves. The President wants it to end, but the leaders of these two countries must want it to end as well. And I think the president will make some additional statements on this later."
Background:
- On the night of 27-28 August, Russian troops launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine, using 629 aerial assets.
- Nineteen people, including four children, were killed and dozens of others sustained injuries in the large-scale Russian attack on Kyiv. Friday 29 August has been declared a day of mourning in Kyiv in memory of those who were killed.
- A number of European countries have condemned the Russian attack, and the European Union and the UK said they were summoning Russian diplomatic representatives.
- Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg, was the first senior US official to comment on Russia’s second-biggest bombardment of Kyiv, stressing that these attacks "threaten the peace that the US President is pursuing".
- On Thursday evening, the US Embassy in Kyiv commented on the Russian attack, recalling that Trump has called on "both sides" to reach a decision to end the war.
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