US struggles to explain footage of its destroyed hardware inside Russia – RT World News

President Joe Biden’s administration has suggested that unlike images shared by the Russian military and numerous other images posted on social media showing destroyed American-made military vehicles in the Belgorod region, the equipment used by the Ukrainian militants in their last attack on Russian soil weren’t likely supplied by Washington or its Western allies.

“We have seen some of the reports circulating on social media and elsewhere claiming that US-supplied weapons were used in these attacks,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington on Tuesday. “I will say that we are skeptical at this time as to the veracity of these reports.”

Miller suggested the footage of the wrecked vehicles might be fake.

“We saw a lot of social media reports and blurry images on social media and a lot of armchair intelligence analysts making statements,” he said. “We are skeptical of their accuracy.”

The images appear to clearly show US-made equipment, including Humvees and at least one MaxxPro MRAP armored fighting vehicle. Nevertheless, when asked why US officials had not made a definitive assessment, Miller stood by his assertion.

“We do not have perfect clarity on the information”, he told reporters. “We’re looking at the same images you’re seeing, the same blurry images, and right now we’re skeptical of their veracity.”

Monday’s attack by a group of Ukrainian saboteurs targeted the Belgorod neighborhood of Grayvoron, where at least one resident was killed and several others injured. Russia’s Defense Ministry released aerial footage on Tuesday purporting to show its destruction of the Ukrainian militant group, which left American-made armor on fire.

Another higher quality video showed several damaged and destroyed US-made vehicles scattered in the aftermath of the attack. The kyiv regime resorted to launching “terrorist actions” against civilian targets after his forces were defeated at Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine), the ministry said.

US officials have denied any responsibility for the attacks on Russian territory. “We do not encourage or allow strikes inside Russia, and we have said this clearly, but as we have also said, it is up to Ukraine to decide how to wage this war” , he added. Miller said Monday.

Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder said the US government had not approved any transfers of equipment to paramilitary organizations outside the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He added that US officials “communicate regularly with Ukraine” that Washington’s security assistance should only be used inside the country to defend its sovereignty.

Like Miller, Ryder attempted to cast doubt on images of American-made armored vehicles. “When you see images like that – you know, again, something that we’re going to look at – I don’t know if it’s true or not in terms of the veracity of those images.”