US President Joe Biden has made his first public comments on the ongoing Ukrainian military operation in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, stating that he maintains regular contact with the Ukrainian side.
“I talk to my staff on a regular basis, maybe every four to five hours over the last six to eight days. This (operation in the Kursk Oblast) creates a real dilemma for Putin,” Biden said during a press interaction on 13 August.
The US State Department, however, emphasized that the United States was not involved in any aspect of planning or preparing the operation in Kursk.
State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said, “We are not involved in any aspect of planning or preparing this operation. Ukrainian military will speak about their operations, and our role, what we focus on, is supporting Ukraine in defending itself, especially when it comes to protection from attacks coming directly from across the border.”
The State Department maintains that Ukraine is defending itself against aggression, with Russia being the sole aggressor in this war.
John Kirby, White House National Security Advisor, dismissed Russian claims that Ukrainian actions in the Kursk region represent a Western war against Russia as “a comical part of Russian propaganda.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, during his visit to Ukraine on 13 August, described the operation as “brave, brilliant and beautiful.”
According to Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukrainian forces have advanced between one to three kilometers in certain directions over the past day. Syrskyi claims that 74 settlements in the Kursk region of Russia are under Ukrainian control.
Russian media, bloggers, and officials report that the Ukrainian army entered the territory of Russia’s Kursk region on 6 August, with fighting ongoing since then. Authorities in Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod regions of Russia have introduced a counter-terrorist operation regime.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on 13 August that Ukraine is not interested in taking territory in Russia’s Kursk Oblast but wants to protect Ukrainian lives and secure itself from Russian strikes.
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