{"id":30247,"date":"2023-03-02T21:41:27","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T21:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/03\/02\/pentagon-again-denies-helping-ukraine-attack-targets-inside-russia\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:20:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:20:27","slug":"pentagon-again-denies-helping-ukraine-attack-targets-inside-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2023\/03\/02\/pentagon-again-denies-helping-ukraine-attack-targets-inside-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon again denies helping Ukraine attack targets inside Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Pentagon on Tuesday pushed back on the idea that the U.S. military is helping Ukraine<\/a> strike within Russia\u2019s borders, following several days of Kremlin claims that <\/b>Ukrainian drones and \u201csaboteurs<\/a>\u201d had crossed borders to attack the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have seen some press reporting from Russian officials, first of all alleging that the U.S. was somehow providing information to enable these types of attacks,\u201d Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a DoD spokesman, said Thursday during a press briefing. \u201cI can say definitively that the notion of us providing intelligence or information to the Ukrainians to target locations inside Russia is nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday the Russian government accused Ukraine of sending gunmen to attack villagers in the Bryansk region<\/a>, days after blaming a series of drone attacks<\/a> inside the country on Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia\u2019s deputy foreign minister said Thursday during a press conference that the drone attacks could only have been carried out with U.S. help, Agence France-Presse reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Defense Department has acknowledged sharing \u201cbattlefield\u201d intelligence<\/a> with the Ukrainian military in the past, it has denied specifically choosing or approving targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in the targeting decisions of the Ukrainian military,\u201d then-Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said last year, a policy Ryder insists continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are not at war with Russia, nor do we seek war with Russia. Our focus is purely on supporting Ukraine to defend itself. And so that\u2019s what we\u2019ll continue to do,\u201d Ryder said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t