Kremlin aide says NATO and the West helped Ukraine attack Russia

Nikolai Patrushev claims the US and NATO helped plan Ukraine's attack on Russia's Kursk region, dismissing Washington's denial of involvement.

 Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Murmansk Region Governor Andrei Chibis at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia August 6, 2024. (photo credit: SPUTNIK/GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL VIA REUTERS)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Murmansk Region Governor Andrei Chibis at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia August 6, 2024.
(photo credit: SPUTNIK/GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL VIA REUTERS)

Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev said on Friday that the US-led military alliance and the West were directly involved in the planning for Ukraine's attack on Russia's Kursk region.

Patrushev, in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper, said that statements by the United States that it was not involved in the attack were not true.

"The operation in the Kursk region was also planned with the participation of NATO and Western special services," Patrushev was quoted as saying.

 A Ukrainian national flag is pictured in front of the NATO emblem, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2023.  (credit: REUTERS/VALENTYN OGIRENKO/FILE PHOTO)
A Ukrainian national flag is pictured in front of the NATO emblem, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/VALENTYN OGIRENKO/FILE PHOTO)

"The statements by the US leadership that it was not involved in Kyiv's crimes in the Kursk region are not true ... Without their participation and direct support, Kyiv would not have ventured into Russian territory."

White House responds

The White House said Ukraine did not provide advance notice of its incursion and that Washington had no involvement in the operation.

Russia's defense ministry has published footage showing US weapons on Russian sovereign territory in Kursk.