Kremlin accuses the US and NATO of helping Ukraine attack Russia

Sunday, August 18, 2024 - The Kremlin has accused the West and the U.S.-led NATO alliance of helping to plan Ukraine's surprise attack on Russia's Kursk region, an allegation the US has denied.

The shock invasion, the biggest into Russia by a foreign power since World War Two, began on August 6 when thousands of Ukrainian troops crossed Russia's western border in a major embarrassment for Putin's military.

Ukraine said the incursion was needed to force Russia, which sent its forces into Ukraine in February 2022, to begin "fair" peace negotiations.

But the United States who have said severally are not interested in direct military confrontation with Russia, said Ukraine had not given advance notice and that Washington was not involved, though weaponry provided by Britain and the U.S. is reported to have been used on Russian soil.

Influential veteran Kremlin hawk and head of Russia Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev dismissed the Western assertions in a new interview.

"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 remarks implied that Ukraine's first acknowledged foray into sovereign Russian territory carried a high risk of escalation.

Putin chaired a meeting of Russia's Security Council, including Patrushev, and said the discussion would focus on "new technical solutions" being employed in what Russia calls 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 said on Thursday that it had installed a military commandant in the area it controlled, even as Russia intensified its offensives in Ukraine's east.

Russia's defence ministry for its part said it had repelled a series of Ukrainian attacks along the Kursk frontline.

After more than 10 days of fighting, Ukraine holds at least 450 sq km (175 sq miles) of territory or less than 0.003% of Russia.