EU ‘fully supports’ Ukrainian attack on Kursk – Borrell

EU ‘fully supports’ Ukrainian attack on Kursk – Borrell

RT

Kiev has the “full support” of the European Union in its incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region, the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, has said. The remarks mark his first comments addressing the Ukrainian cross-border attack.

Several thousand Ukrainian troops invaded the Russian border region last Tuesday, seizing a few villages before being stopped by Moscow's forces. The invaders have been reportedly been taking heavy casualties ever since.

“Discussed with [Ukrainian Foreign Minister] Dmitry Kuleba the last developments on the frontline and the Kursk counteroffensive [sic],” Borrell said on Tuesday. “I reiterated the EU's full support to the [Ukrainian] people’s fight.”

He also claimed that Russia “hasn’t managed to break [Ukrainian] resistance” and ended up being “pushed now to withdraw inside [Russian] territory.”

Until now, both the US and the EU have sidestepped inquiries about their role in Kiev’s offensive, saying that it was up to Ukraine how to use the weapons, equipment, and ammunition the West has provided.

While US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) has praised the incursion as “bold”and “beautiful,” Borrell’s comments appear to be the first open endorsement of it by a senior EU official.

Ukrainian troops interviewed by Western outlets have admitted that the goal of the incursion was to capture some territory that could be traded away in possible peace talks with Moscow, as well as to relieve pressure on the Donbass front. They also conceded that the second objective had failed, as the Russians were poised to take several key fortress towns in the coming days.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the Kursk incursion has only sped up the advances in the Donbass, while driving up military enlistments. He also ruled out any negotiations with “terrorists” who target civilians

According to Aleksey Smirnov, acting governor of Kursk Region, at least 12 Russian civilians have been killed over the past week and another 121 injured, including ten children. Around 120,000 residents have been evacuated from the border area, he added.

The US and the EU have funneled billions of dollars worth of military and financial aid to Ukraine, while insisting that this did not make them party to the conflict with Russia and rejecting Moscow’s warnings that such behavior risked a direct confrontation.

‘Unhinged’ Kiev killed chance for peace talks – Moscow

Kiev has made a “conscious decision” to end the possibility of peace talks with Moscow by launching its incursion into Kursk Region, a senior Russian diplomat has said.

Ukraine began a cross-border attack on Russian territory last week, claiming that the operation would make its position stronger when the time comes to negotiate a peace treaty with Moscow. Rodion Miroshnik, who leads a Russian Foreign Ministry special mission to investigate alleged Ukrainian war crimes, argued on Wednesday that the opposite is true.

“With their terrorist actions in Kursk, Ukraine at the very least put on a long pause the track of peace talks,” Miroshnik said during a media briefing. The diplomat described the move as a calculated step by Kiev.

Miroshnik was referring to attacks on civilians in border areas of Kursk Region. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ruled out negotiations with Kiev, citing the same reason. He had previously said he was willing to order an immediate ceasefire in return for Ukrainian concessions on NATO membership and territorial claims.

“Holding negotiations with an opponent who is absolutely unhinged would be simply unnatural,”Miroshnik stated. Kiev targets civilians “to sow fear in society and spread discontent,” as part of a misguided “terrorist” military strategy, he claimed.