Kursk offensive: Biden calls it ‘a dilemma for Putin’, Borel says EU supports Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden has called Ukraine’s offensive in Kursk a “real dilemma” for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. Biden said this while answering questions from journalists in New Orleans.

Biden, in his first substantive comments on the events in Kursk, said that Washington is in constant contact with Kyiv regarding the operation. He noted that his staff had been briefing him on this topic every four to five hours over the past six to eight days.

“It’s creating a real dilemma for Putin, and we’ve been in direct contact, constant contact, with the Ukrainians. That’s all I’m going to say about it while it’s active,” the US president said.

Borrell on the Kursk offensive: The EU fully supports the Ukrainian people’s fight

After speaking with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba about Ukraine’s offensive in the Kursk region, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell stated that the EU fully supports the Ukrainian people’s struggle.

During the conversation, Dmytro Kuleba informed Borrell about the latest developments at the front and the details of Ukraine’s operation in the Kursk region.

“Discussed with Dmytro Kuleba the last developments on the frontline and the Kursk counteroffensive. I reiterated the EU’s full support for the Ukrainian people’s fight. Putin hasn’t managed to break UA resistance against his unjustified invasion and is pushed now to withdraw inside Russian territory,” Borrell wrote on X.

Tusk: Ukraine’s operation in the Kursk region is its right to self-defense

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk believes that Ukraine’s operation in the Kursk region of Russia is an exercise of its internationally recognized right to self-defense. He said this at a press conference on Tuesday, August 13, the PAP news agency reported.

Commenting on the Ukrainian attack in the Kursk region, Tusk emphasized that “Ukraine’s actions are defensive actions.”

“What Russian troops and Russian aviation are doing on Ukrainian territory bears signs of genocide and inhuman crimes,” he added. “And Ukraine has every right to wage war in such a way as to paralyze Russia’s aggressive intentions as effectively as possible.”

The Prime Minister of Poland added that the government is in constant contact with the Ukrainian side, but “we are not talking about consultations, which consist of someone in Kyiv coordinating with me on what day, where, and who will move.”

“We support Ukraine in a war that is a defensive war,” Tusk emphasized.

Pentagon is not concerned about a possible increase in tensions with Russia

According to media reports, Ukraine did not inform its partners in the West about the details of the operation until recently.

The day before, the U.S. State Department assured that the United States was not involved in planning the operation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region of Russia.

The Pentagon has previously said that Ukraine’s advance in the Kursk region is consistent with U.S. policy and that it is not concerned about a possible increase in tensions with Russia.