During a press briefing on 12 August, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby dismissed claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his defense minister that the Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast represents a war between the West and Russia. Kirby referred to this narrative as “a funny bit of Putin propaganda.”
“[Putin’s] been clinging to it since the beginning of the war: that he had to go into Ukraine, NATO is surrounding him, and that NATO support and US support for Ukraine just proves it’s the West versus Russia; it’s NATO versus Russia; it’s the US versus Russia. And it’s all a bunch of horse-hockey. There’s nothing to it,” Kirby said.
He stated,
“This is Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, pure and simple. Always has been since the beginning.”
Kirby emphasized that the only people at war in Ukraine are the Russians, “they’re the ones that invaded Ukraine. And Ukraine is defending itself against that aggression.”
He advised Putin,
“And if he doesn’t like it, if it’s making him a little uncomfortable, then there’s an easy solution: He can just get the hell out of Ukraine and call it a day.”
Addressing reports of North Korean missiles being used in recent Russian strikes on Ukraine, including in Kyiv, Kirby said he couldn’t confirm specific incidents. However, he acknowledged that Russia has been using North Korean ballistic missiles in recent weeks and months.
Kirby described Putin as “desperate for assistance and military capability” due to the impact of export controls and sanctions, which have “turned whatever economy he had before this war into pretty much a wartime economy.”
Kirby also mentioned that the US is in close contact with Ukrainian counterparts regarding their military operations but deferred to Ukraine to speak about their own activities. He stated,
“We’re continuing to speak to our Ukrainian counterparts about these operations. I’ll let them speak to their operations.”
Related:
- Kursk incursion: experts debate Ukraine’s objectives as Kyiv consolidates blitz gains
- Ukraine’s Security Service warns that Russian FSB is about to stage war crimes to blame Ukraine
- Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi says Ukraine controls nearly 1,000 square kilometers of Russia
- DeepState: The Ukrainian army controls 44 Russian settlements, according to conservative estimates
- US seeks to understand goals and strategy of Ukraine’s Kursk incursion
- Putin demands that the Russian Ministry of Defense “squeeze out the enemy” from the Kursk region