Kiev has the “full support” of the European Union in its incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region, the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borell, has said in his first comments addressing the Ukrainian cross-border operation. Several thousand Ukrainian troops invaded the border region last Tuesday, seizing a few villages before being stopped by Russian reinforcements. The invaders have been taking heavy casualties ever since.
“Discussed with [Ukrainian Foreign Minister] Dmitry Kuleba the last developments on the frontline and the Kursk counteroffensive [sic],” Borell said on Tuesday. “I reiterated the EU full support to the [Ukrainian] people’s fight.” He also claimed that Russia “hasn’t managed to break [Ukrainian] resistance” and ended up being “pushed now to withdraw inside [Russian] territory.
” Until now, both the US and the EU have sidestepped inquiries about their role in Kiev’s offensive, saying that it was up to Ukraine how to use all the weapons, equipment, and ammunition the West has provided. While US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) has praised the incursion as “bold” and “beautiful,” Borell’s comments appear to be the first open endorsement of it by a senior EU official. Ukrainian troops interviewed by Western outlets have admitted that the goal of the incursion was to capture some territory that could be traded away in possible peace talks with Moscow, as well as to relieve pressure on the Donbass front.
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