The US expressed concern over the attacks on oil refineries in Russia, but Ukraine considers refineries on the territory of the aggressor country to be legitimate targets.
This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, Olha Stefanishyna during the 16th annual Kyiv Security Forum "Ukraine's Call to the World: Together we prevail."
Commenting on the Financial Times article about Washington's alleged calls for Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries, the official emphasized that from a military point of view, oil refineries in the Russian Federation are legitimate targets of Ukraine.
At the same time, she said, Ukraine understands "the calls of its American partners," but Kyiv has to fight with the capabilities it has.
"We understand the calls of our American partners. At the same time, we are fighting with the capabilities, resources and practices that we have today," she said.
In addition, Stefanishyna noted that Ukrainian side has responded to these calls by "achieving its goals" and "very successful operations" conducted in Russia.
She also added that there are "statements by other officials that these are absolutely legitimate goals from a military point of view."
The Government official recalled that after the start of the full-scale invasion and the first massive missile strikes on Ukraine, she had a conversation with NATO headquarters to ask them to appeal to the UN, as they could "close the sky" over Ukraine. She was told that she "does not understand NATO standards."
The Deputy Prime Minister noted that according to the NATO, this means, first of all, the destruction of infrastructure on the territory of the Russian Federation, which makes it possible to bomb Ukrainian cities, including factories that produce missiles.
"We are acting in accordance with the best NATO standards," emphasized Olga Stefanishyna.
Earlier "Apostrophe" wrote that attacks of Ukrainian UAVs on the oil refining sector, have a negative impact on Russian economy and cause fuel shortages both in the domestic market and for the enemy army.