US says it supports Ukraine’s efforts to protect sovereignty after explosions at Crimea airbase

The White House stated that it supports Ukraine's efforts to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this during the press briefing while commenting on the explosions at the airfield in Crimea.

Karine Jean-Pierre answered a journalist's question about "a series of explosions at the russian airbase in Crimea" and whether the US considers Crimea a legitimate target for the Ukrainian forces, to which the Pentagon has provided weapons.

"We are supportive of Ukraine's efforts, as you know, to defend its sovereignty and territory integrity, as we have said many times.

From here, the fight has been in the east and the southwest of the country, and it's far from over. We have warned this could be a long and protracted war.

We will continue to ensure that Ukraine can push back against russia's unprovoked aggression, and that's going to be our focus."

She added, "We are going to continue to support Ukrainians as they're fighting for their freedom, as they're fighting for their sovereignty against a brutal attack from russia."

Reference

On August 9, explosions sounded at the military airfield in Novofedorivka, Crimea. Residents of Crimea posted videos on social media that showed at least two epicenters of the fire.

They also said that they heard from 7 to 12 explosions.

The so-called "leader of Crimea," Sergey Aksyonov, reported that one person died and six others were injured due to the explosions.

russia's defense ministry stated that the detonation of several aircraft shells caused the fire at the Saki air base. Later, a source of the russian military department told TASS about the violation of fire safety requirements at the airfield near Novofedorivka.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine stated that it could not establish the cause of the fire in Novofedorivtsi.

The New York Times, citing a "senior Ukrainian military official," wrote that Ukrainian forces were allegedly behind the explosions at the airbase in occupied Crimea.

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