US seeks clarity on Ukraine ‘objectives’ in Russia incursion:
White House
AFP
Published: 08 August ,2024: 12:04 AM GST
Updated: 08 August ,2024: 12:07 AM GST
The White House said Wednesday it was contacting key US ally Ukraine to learn more about the “objectives” of Kyiv’s most serious cross-border incursion into Russian territory in months.
“We’re going to reach out to the Ukrainian military to learn more about their objectives,”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters when asked about the operation.
Washington supported “common sense” actions by Ukraine to stop attacks by Russian forces, Jean-Pierre added.
President Joe Biden in May allowed Kyiv to use American-supplied weapons against targets just across the Russian border to repel Moscow’s push on the Kharkiv region.
But White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said separately that “nothing had changed” about the US policy discouraging broader strikes or attacks inside Russia.
Thousands of civilians on both sides of the border have been evacuated after Ukraine launched the cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, now in its second day.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller dismissed Moscow’s condemnations of the Ukrainian attack.
“I have seen the statements from the Russian government. It is a little bit rich, them calling it a provocation, given Russia violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” he told a briefing.
Russian Pro-War Bloggers Blast Army Failures After Border Raid
Ukrainian troops, tanks and armoured vehicles stormed into Russia's Kursk region on Tuesday, forcing Moscow to rush in reserves and deploy drones, aviation and artillery to counter the attack.
Several influential Russian military bloggers on Wednesday blasted the country's army leaders for failing to thwart a major Ukrainian cross-border raid. Ukrainian troops, tanks and armoured vehicles stormed into Russia's southwestern Kursk region on Tuesday, forcing Moscow to rush in reserves and deploy drones, aviation and artillery to counter the attack.
It was one of the most serious border incursions by pro-Kyiv fighters, and brought Russia's army bosses in for criticism over failing to learn the lessons from previous attacks. "The enemy has been accumulating forces for two months," the influential Rybar channel, which has links to Russian troops, said in a post. "For two months the full information was sent to the useless headquarters. There was enough time to make an appropriate decision," it added.
The attacks, still being felt on Wednesday evening, are one of the first major tests for Russia's new defence minister Andrei Belousov. In May he replaced Sergei Shoigu, who was blamed for a string of Russian military setbacks since the start of the Ukraine offensive in 2022. Several other defence ministry officials have been removed or arrested on corruption charges.
But the man in charge of army operations in Ukraine -- Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, also detested by many of the military bloggers -- remained in place. In light of the Kursk incursion, Rybar and others criticised the decision not to "break up the combat management system".
The second of two new multirole corvettes ordered by Ukraine in 2020 was launched in Turkey on Aug. 1, 2024, both ships will only be commissioned by 2027.
The Russian military leadership "continue to make mistakes and lie," another influential blogger, Anastasia Kashevarova, said. "Every day they make mistakes that cost our fighters their lives," she wrote on Telegram. The WarGonzo channel, run by Semyon Pegov, welcomed that Gerasimov was shown on state television in a meeting with President Vladimir Putin as it meant he would be "directly responsible" for resolving the "mistakes". "We have long lacked public responsibility," he said. Criticism of the offensive from military bloggers used to be common but has become rarer lately as the Kremlin has clamped down on public dissent. The bloggers shot to prominence in the first months of the Ukraine offensive with searing criticism of Moscow's military bosses, alleging ineptitude and corruption. Many back a more aggressive campaign against Ukraine and are angry at heavy losses among Russian rank-and-file troops since February 2022.
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US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller dismissed Moscow’s condemnations of the Ukrainian attack.
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