Ukraine will have to answer to the United States about its current military movements. The White House said Wednesday that it was contacting kyiv to learn more about the “objectives” of the ongoing incursion of Ukrainian troops into Russian territory in the Kursk border region.
“We will be reaching out to the Ukrainian military to learn more about their goals,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in response to a question about the operation. Washington supports Ukraine’s “common sense” actions to stop attacks by Russian forces, she added.
The American “yes, but”
In May, Joe Biden had authorized kyiv to use American weapons to strike targets on Russian territory near the Kharkiv region (northeast), subject to a Russian attack. But the spokesman for the American National Security Council, John Kirby, recalled that “nothing (had) changed” in the policy of the United States, which opposes any Ukrainian strike further into Russian territory.
Ukrainian troops launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people on both sides of the border. Fighting continued there on Wednesday.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks, calling them a “large-scale provocation.” He said it was “a bit strong to call this a provocation given that Russia has violated the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.”