US State Department reacts to fighting in Kursk region: Ukraine does not violate our policy
7 August 2024 23:17
Ukraine did not warn the United States about the operation in the Kursk region. At the same time, Washington’s policy was not violated. This was stated by US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller during a briefing, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Miller said that the US is in contact with Ukraine regarding the events in the Kursk region.
“Russia has violated the territorial integrity of Ukraine… and continues to illegally occupy the territory of Ukraine. The decision on how Ukraine conducts its military operations is up to Ukraine,” Miller said.
He added that the US had not received any information about the operation in the Kursk region in advance.
“It’s not unusual for the Ukrainian side not to warn us in advance of their tactics… But it’s not unusual for the Ukrainians not to tell us their exact tactics before they implement and execute them. Ukraine makes its own decisions,” Miller said.
The State Department spokesman also reacted to the words of Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin, who, commenting on the situation in the Kursk region of Russia, accused Kyiv of a “large-scale provocation”.
According to Miller, it is ironic that the Russian authorities are making such statements, given that it was Russia that violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty back in 2014 and continues to illegally occupy Ukrainian territory.
Miller was then asked whether Ukraine could use US weapons in the Kursk region.
“Nothing has changed with respect to the policy that we announced a few months ago to allow the use of equipment that we provide to strike across the border or against Russian military facilities located directly across the border. Nothing has changed in that policy,” the State Department spokesman stressed.
What is happening in the Kursk region
On the evening of 6 August, the Ukrainian information space received the first reports of unknown soldiers breaking through into the Kursk region of Russia. Unknown units allegedly crossed the Ukrainian-Russian border from Ukraine and moved deeper into the region. At the same time, the Ukrainian military command maintains absolute information silence and almost all information comes from Russian public media. At the same time, it is likely that this information should not be dismissed as unreliable, as this time the mood of Russian propagandists and military commanders is quite panicked.
on6 August, throughout the day , there were reports of the advance of Ukrainian Armed Forces units north-west of Suzha along the Daryna-Zelenyi Shlyakh line. Video footage of the shelling of Suzha appeared on social media. Local authorities reported a growing number of civilian casualties.
At 15:05, the Russian Ministry of Defence commented on the situation for the first time, stating that up to 300 soldiers, supported by 11 tanks and more than 20 armoured vehicles, had attacked from Ukraine. The ministry announced the deployment of reserves to the area of hostilities and the use of army aircraft.
In the evening of the same day , the Russian Ministry of Defence withdrew its previous statement about the retreat of the Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group. This raised additional questions about the real situation on the ground.
On the night of 7 August , there were reports of explosions in the city of Kurchatov, where the Kursk nuclear power plant is located. It was assumed that air defence systems were operating there. This information highlighted the expansion of the conflict zone and potential risks to critical infrastructure. And the town of Sudzha, located 10 kilometres from the Russian-Ukrainian border, came under fire again.
At 12:30 p.m. on the same day, the Russian Ministry of Defence issued a statement on the continuation of the “operation to destroy the Ukrainian Armed Forces” in the Kursk region. The ministry claimed that the Ukrainian armed forces had not been allowed to advance deeper into Russian territory and that Ukrainian forces had suffered significant losses in equipment and personnel. It also claimed to have struck enemy reserves in the Sumy region of Ukraine.
