U.S. House Speaker: Washington Should Allow Ukraine to Conduct War 'As It Sees Fit'

Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, told Voice of America on Wednesday that Washington should 'allow Ukraine to conduct the war in a way it sees fit.' He made these remarks regarding how Ukraine utilizes U.S.-supplied weapons in its war against Russia. In recent weeks, Ukraine has repeatedly urged the Biden administration to lift the ban on using U.S. weapons to strike targets within Russia. Mike Johnson stated, 'They [Ukraine] need to be able to confront [Russia]. And I think our efforts to micromanage their efforts there is not a good policy for us.' Oleksandra Ustinova, a member of the Ukrainian parliament who recently visited Washington, said that Russia is exploiting U.S. restrictions on how Ukraine can use the weapons provided by the U.S. Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of American lawmakers wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, demanding that Ukraine be allowed to use American weapons against strategic targets in Russian territory. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated that the U.S. expects Ukraine to use the provided weapons only within its own territory. The British Defense Minister stated that there is evidence of 'lethal aid' flowing from China to Russia. Russian attacks on Ukraine's power grid are expected to leave Kyiv facing blackouts as it approaches peak consumption season. Another expert condemned Russia's hypersonic missiles as 'treason.' Ukraine claims it still controls 60% of the border town of Vuchansk after Russian attacks.