The Kremlin has accused the West and the NATO alliance, led by the United States, of assisting in the planning of Ukraine’s surprise attack on Russia’s Kursk region, which the US has denied.
The shock invasion, the largest by a foreign state into Russia since World War II, began on August 6, when hundreds of Ukrainian troops crossed Russia’s western border, embarrassing Putin’s military.
Ukraine claimed the incursion was necessary to push Russia, which moved troops into Ukraine in February 2022, to start “fair” peace talks.
However, the United States, which has repeatedly stated that it is not interested in engaging in direct military conflict with Russia, claimed that Washington was not participating and that Ukraine had not given warning, despite reports that American and British weapons had been used on Russian land.
In a recent interview, prominent senior Kremlin hawk and head of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev refuted the claims made by the West.
“The operation in the Kursk region was also planned with the participation of NATO and Western special services,” he was quoted by Izvestia newspaper.
“Without their participation and direct support, Kyiv would not have ventured into Russian territory.”
The statements suggested that there was a significant chance of an escalation in Ukraine’s first admitted incursion into sovereign Russian territory.
Patrushev was present at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council headed by Putin, who announced that the topic of discussion will be “new technical solutions” being used in what Russia refers to as its special military operation.
“Washington’s efforts have created all the prerequisites for Ukraine to lose its sovereignty and lose part of its territories,” Patrushev said.
Ukraine announced on Thursday that it has established a military commandant in the territory it controlled, as Russia escalated its offensives in Ukraine’s east.
Russia’s defence ministry said it has repelled a series of Ukrainian attacks along the Kursk frontline.
After more than ten days of warfare, Ukraine controls at least 450 square kilometres (175 square miles) of territory, or less than 0.003% of Russia.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli