U.S. Says Not Involved In Cross-Border Operation As Ukraine Advances While Kremlin Panics

The United States said on Tuesday that it had not been involved in Ukraine’s latest cross-border offensive which has opened a new chapter in the war that is threatening Moscow’s advantage across the front line while redrawing the boundaries of the battle, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"[W]e were not engaged in any aspect or planning or preparation for this operation," State Department's Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told a daily briefing when responding to TURAN's questions.

Patel went on to add, "I will let the Ukrainian military speak to their own operations, but our role and what we are focused on is supporting Ukraine be able to defend itself, which we believe is common sense, especially when it comes to defending itself against attacks or operations that may be immediately across the border.  And so we will remain focused on ensuring that our Ukrainian partners have what they need to do that."

Patel's comments came as Ukraine on Tuesday laid out its objectives in the cross-border operation saying that it had not aimed any land grab inside Russia.

“Unlike Russia, Ukraine doesn’t need something that belongs to someone else,” Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi was quoted as saying, adding that Ukraine wants to "protect the lives of our people.”  Kyiv will likely hold out until a significant number of Russian troops are redeployed to defend Kursk.

When asked about reports that Russian troops were pulled out of southern Ukraine to provide reinforcements against the ongoing offensive in Kursk, Patel refrained from speaking to specific operational updates.

"The only reason that you and I are even talking about this subject is that the only country at war in Ukraine is Russia," he told TURAN's correspondent.   "President Putin is the one who invaded Ukraine, and Ukraine is defending itself from that aggression.  This has been the Kremlin’s war of aggression from the start against Ukraine, pure and simple," he added.

TURAN also asked Patel about the recent reports on Russia setting a fire at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.  "... [A]ny kind of violent military kinetic activity so close to a nuclear power plant certainly – not only is it dangerous, but it creates the potential for enhanced risk.  And that’s something we certainly don’t want to see," the deputy spokesperson said.