Russian spy agency names states enabling Kiev's Kursk incursion

RT
Wed, 21 Aug 2024 00:09 UTC

© Sputnik / Russian Defense Ministry

A destroyed Ukrainian military vehicle in Kursk Region, Russia, August 20, 2024.

The US, UK, and Poland trained the units that broke through the border earlier this month, the SVR has said

NATO countries helped Ukraine plan and carry out the ongoing incursion into Russia's Kursk Region, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has said. Moscow 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.

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12 Aug, 2024 14:50
Foreign fighters involved in Kursk assault - Ukrainian soldier
Kiev's forces were communicating in English and Polish on military radios, a captured serviceman has said

A Ukrainian soldier who was captured in Kursk Region amid Kiev's ongoing cross-border offensive has claimed that foreign mercenaries are fighting for Ukraine on Russian soil.

Footage of an interview with the detainee was released by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) on Monday. The agency claimed that the man shown in the footage was captured with the help of local residents in Kursk Region. The Ukrainian identified himself as a 26-year-old member of his country's 80th Air Assault Brigade, which is taking part in the offensive.

Ruslan Poltoratsky, as he introduced himself, said he first heard foreign radio chatter when crossing the Russian border and initially thought it was some kind of interference.

"They spoke in English, Polish, maybe French. I did not understand them, called on the radio to repeat, and only heard gibberish in response," he said.

He later concluded that the communications were local, since Ukrainian military officials were responding.

"There was something about houses and gunshots in the background," he claimed.

Poltoratsky also mentioned that a brigade "made up of those who used to be in jail" was taking part in the Kursk Region offensive. He was apparently referring to a unit composed of convicts who volunteered in exchange for early release from prison.

Ukraine has been using foreign fighters to bolster its military since the early days of the conflict with Russia, creating an 'International Legion' [Wiki] for volunteers. Moscow has described them as mercenaries and has accused Western nations of facilitating the recruitment of their citizens with combat experience.

The practice of embedding foreign fighters into the Ukrainian military predates the ongoing hostilities, as evidenced by a group known as the Georgian Legion [Wiki, RT article]. It features Georgian citizens in its ranks and was created in 2014. The unit is also in Kursk Region, according to a source cited last week by military news outlet The War Zone.

The legion is known for videos in which members are shown torturing and executing Russian prisoners in March 2022. Russia considers the Georgian Legion a terrorist organization and a tool of Ukrainian military intelligence.

See also:
UK trained Ukrainian soldiers ahead of Kursk attack - Times
Moscow reveals origin of chemical weapons used in Kursk