The US leader made his first remarks about the incursion of Kiev’s forces into Kursk Region
US President Joe Biden has said that Washington is in contact with Kiev about Ukraine’s ongoing incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region, which is posing a challenge for Moscow.
According to Moscow, last week, Ukraine sent several thousand troops across the Russian border to seize a dozen villages and indiscriminately target civilians.
“I have spoken with my staff on a regular basis, probably every four or five hours for the last six or eight days and it’s creating a real dilemma for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Biden told reporters on Tuesday, in his first remarks about the Kursk offensive.
“And we’ve been in direct contact, constant contact with the Ukrainians. That’s all I’m going to say about it while it’s active,” he added.
Biden’s first public reaction to Zelensky’s terror attack on the Kursk region: it creates a “real dilemma”
The US President claimed he discusses the situation in Russia with his staff “every 4-5 hours”.
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The US leader made these remarks while arriving in New Orleans, speaking outside Air Force One. Earlier in the day, EU foreign policy commissioner Josep Borrell stated that Kiev had the bloc’s “full support” for the Kursk offensive.
Previously, Washington and Brussels have responded to press inquiries about the events in Kursk by using general statements about support for Ukraine and unchanging policies.
“We’re in touch with our Ukrainian counterparts, and we are working to gain a better understanding of what they’re doing, what their goals are, what their strategy is, and I’m going to leave a little bit of space for us to have those conversations before I try to characterize what’s going on,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday. The US announced another $125 million in military aid to Ukraine later that day.
However, on Monday, Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, visited Kiev and praised the Kursk incursion as “bold” and “beautiful.” He also encouraged retired Western pilots to join the Ukrainian air force and fly NATO-provided F-16 fighters against Russia.
Acting regional governor Aleksey Smirnov reported on Monday that at least 12 Russian civilians have been killed and another 121 wounded by Ukrainian invaders.
Ukrainian soldiers who spoke to Western outlets reported taking significant casualties in the invasion. They also stated that their objectives were to capture some territory that could be traded away in potential peace talks with Moscow, as well as to relieve pressure on the Donbass front.
On Monday, reports suggested that the Russian forces were actually advancing at a faster pace, while military enlistments were up due to the fighting in Kursk.