NATO countries helped Ukraine plan and carry out the ongoing incursion into Kursk Region, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has said. Moscow has previously accused the US and other Western countries of enabling Kiev to strike deep inside Russia and target civilians.
“According to available information, the operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk Region was prepared with the involvement of the security agencies of the US, Britain and Poland,” the SVR said in a statement published by Izvestia on Wednesday.
According to the SVR, the Ukrainian units that crossed the border earlier this month underwent training in Britain and Germany.
“Military advisers from NATO countries are helping with the coordination of the invading units and with the use of Western weapons by the Ukrainians,” the agency said. It added that NATO has been providing Kiev with satellite data on the movement of Russian troops.
Kiev’s largest incursion into internationally recognized Russian territory to date began on August 6, when Ukrainian troops attacked border posts and subsequently overran multiple villages, as well as Sudzha, a border city with a pre-conflict population of 5,000. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said on Sunday that Kiev intends to establish a “buffer zone” on Russian soil.
Ukraine’s Western backers have endorsed the attack. According to The Times, some of the fighters participating in the operation underwent urban combat training in the UK. The Ukrainian soldiers have extensively used Western-provided weapons in Kursk, including US-made Stryker and German-made Marder armored vehicles, some of which have since been destroyed by Russia.
Moscow arranged the evacuation of civilians from the affected areas and deployed additional forces to repel the enemy. According to the latest dispatch from the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev lost up to 350 troops and 25 armored vehicles in Kursk Region on Tuesday alone.