US does not change its policy towards Ukrainian attacks inside Russia after the July 8 attack

The United States will not allow Ukraine to advance deeper into Russian territory following the deadly July 8 attack, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said during a press conference.

“There has been no change in our policy. You saw that the president of Ukraine gave the order a few weeks ago that they could use U.S. weapons to attack targets just across the border. That is still the case,” Kirby told reporters on July 8.

US security advisor Jake Sullivan told PBS News stated in June that Ukraine was allowed to “attack anywhere Russian forces cross the border from the Russian to the Ukrainian side in an attempt to capture more Ukrainian territory.”

The Russian military has hit the Okhmatdyt Hospital, Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, with a Kh-101 cruise missile, according to preliminary data provided to the State Security Service (SBU). According to local authorities, at least two people were killed and 50 injured, including seven children.

Kirby added that it was part of Putin’s policy to “attack civilian infrastructure” and that he “didn’t care if people were in hospitals or residential buildings.”

More than 170 people were injured and at least 37 people were killed across the country in the Russian attack on July 8, said President Volodymyr Zelensky.

When the NATO summit officially begins on July 9 at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, Kirby said, there will be “very clear signals and messages to Mr. Putin that he cannot sit out NATO, that he cannot sit out the United States. We will continue to support Ukraine.”

News from the Ukraine war: Massive Russian missile attack kills and injures over 200 civilians

On the morning of July 8, Russia launched a massive missile attack on cities across Ukraine, including Kyiv, killing at least 37 civilians and injuring 170 others.