US Lying About Non-Involvement In Kursk Attack: Kremlin

A top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of lying when it says it had no foreknowledge of the Ukrainian offensive into Kursk, which has now surpassed ten days and forced over 120,000 civilians to evacuate.

“The US leadership’s claims of non-involvement in Kiev’s actions in Kursk Region do not correspond to reality… Without their participation and direct support, Kiev would not have ventured into Russian territory,” advisor and former Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev told Izvestia in a fresh interview. He went so far as to accuse NATO intelligence agencies in assisting directly.

Following similar White House statements claiming the US was in the dark about the daring cross-border operation, a Pentagon official on Wednesday asserted, “We didn’t get any advanced notification.”

Nikolai Patrushev, Getty Images

“What the Ukrainians were able to do was operational security, and that is something that I think we should be giving credit for. It definitely surprised the Russians,” the defense official said.

But Patrushev, who now oversees Russia’s global maritime strategy, said that it was the West which “put the criminal junta at the head of Ukraine,” and it remains that “NATO countries have supplied Kiev with weapons, military instructors, and continuous intelligence while controlling the actions of neo-Nazis.”

He continued with his accusations, according to RT’s translation:

“This criminal action stems from anticipation of the imminent collapse of the neo-Nazi Kiev regime,… the residents of Ukraine are suffering for the sake of American interests, as the US has turned the country into a military anti-Russian project.”

Putin said last week in the wake of the attack, and as it became clear that Ukraine forces actually held some territory in Kursk, that the possibility for peace talks with Kiev are now completely off.

 Patrushev explained further, “Washington’s efforts have created all the prerequisites for Ukraine to lose its sovereignty and part of its territories, including those coveted by some American allies.”

A Thursday New York Times report declared that this operation has embarrassed Putin and exposed weaknesses. And US officials further say that the fight is about to get a lot dirtier and more risky, in expectation of future sabotage and cross-border campaigns. 

“American officials say Ukraine will have to build on the operation, with other daring operations that can push back against Russia’s sense that its victory is inevitable,” wrote the NY Times. “Whether that will include more cross-border incursions, secret sabotage missions or other yet-to-be-planned operations remains to be seen.”

While you’re memeing about towns and villages in Kursk being evacuated, try to remember that this is what that often means on the ground: pic.twitter.com/qBk0cfSea4

— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) August 16, 2024

These future operations might involve use of US-supplied equipment, just like with the current Kurks mission: “The lack of warning to Kyiv’s foremost Western ally took on even greater meaning when it became clear that Ukraine was using American-supplied vehicles, arms and munitions to help carry out the bold ground operation into Russia,” the report continues.