Western intelligence services helped Ukraine plan the raid, Nikolai Patrushev has insisted
Kiev would never dare to stage a large-scale incursion into Russian territory without Washington’s blessing and NATO support, former Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said.
Last week, Kiev launched its largest attack on Russian territory since the outbreak of conflict in February 2022. Western officials have voiced their support for the incursion into Kursk Region but denied any prior knowledge or involvement in the operation.
”The US leadership’s claims of non-involvement in Kiev’s actions in Kursk Region do not correspond to reality… Without their participation and direct support, Kiev would not have ventured into Russian territory,” Patrushev told Izvestia in an interview published on Friday.
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The adviser to President Vladimir Putin, who has recently been appointed to oversee Russia’s global maritime strategy, emphasized that the “West put the criminal junta at the head of Ukraine,” while “NATO countries have supplied Kiev with weapons, military instructors, and continuous intelligence while controlling the actions of neo-Nazis.”
The operation in Kursk Region was also planned with the involvement of NATO and Western special services.
The advance of Kiev’s troops was swiftly halted by Russian forces, although they maintain control over several settlements in Kursk Region. According to the local governor, at least 12 civilians have been killed and another 121 wounded due to the incursion, forcing more than 120,000 residents to evacuate.