The US position on Ukraine's attacks against Russian oil refineries is not to encourage Ukrainian forces to strike beyond their borders, states US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Journalists asked a State Department representative to comment on recent reports in the press stating that the US had asked Ukraine to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries.
"So I’m not going to speak to specific conversations, but it has always been our position since the outset of this war that we do not encourage or support Ukraine taking strikes outside its own territory," Miller said.
When asked if there were specific discussions about attacks on Russian oil refineries, the spokesperson again avoided a direct answer, saying that the American position is well known to the Ukrainian government, so it's not something they wouldn't be aware of.
Attacks on oil refineries in Russia
In the past week, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have used drones to attack 12 Russian oil refineries.
These attacks have disabled at least 10% of Russia's oil refining capacity. As of March 1, Russia has officially halted gasoline exports due to fuel shortages.
Recently, the Financial Times reported that the US allegedly urged Ukraine to stop attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. Washington fears that strikes on plants could lead to a rise in global oil and gasoline prices.
However, the advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak, stated that Ukraine has not received any calls from the US to cease attacks on Russian oil refineries.
According to the UK Ministry of Defense, Russia is unlikely to be able to protect all of its oil refineries from Ukrainian attacks.
The head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Malyuk, hinted that Ukraine will continue to attack Russian oil refineries.