A Russian lawmaker says the military knew Ukraine was planning to hit Kursk, but everyone was told 'not to panic' because 'those above know better'

BUSINESS INSIDER:  Ukraine caught the world by surprise when it attacked Russia's Kursk region last week, but a Russian lawmaker said the country's military knew about the planned incursion a month before it happened.

"But from the top came the order not to panic, and that those above know better," Andrey Gurulyov, a member of the State Duma and retired major general, told the military expert Vladislav Shurygin in a televised interview that aired on August 8, according to a translation by The New York Times.

Russia's military, Gurulyov said, was told about Ukraine's plans for Kursk about a month ago.

The former army officer said military leadership received an intelligence report about Ukraine's impending attack.

Ukraine launched a shock offensive into the Kursk region on August 6. The complex and surprise attack has been wildly successful for the embattled country, which was caught on the back foot after the US Congress delayed more than $60 billion of aid.

The Ukraine aid bill was finally passed in April after months of back-and-forth.

On Monday, the commander in chief of Ukraine's military, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Ukraine had seized nearly 400 square miles of Russian territory in just a few days. That's close to the amount of Ukrainian territory captured by Russia this year.

This isn't the first time Gurulyov has ripped Russia's military leaders and accused them of having poor strategy and incompetence on the battlefield.

In September, Gurulyov said in a Telegram message that the military was using lies and false reporting to downplay Ukraine's accomplishments during their failed counteroffensive on Russia.

"Victory is separated from us only by one serious problem of ours — lies. Yes, there is less of it than there was at the beginning of the special military operation, but it is there," Gurulyov wrote, using the euphemism for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"False reports, unfortunately, lead to poor decisions at many levels. It is there, let's admit it and fight it, otherwise it will be a disaster," he added.

Representatives for Russia's defense ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

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