Russian disinfo: U.S. demands Kyiv’s explanation about Kursk region attack

The White House actually stated something quite different, and Kremlin propaganda, as usual, distorted the original statement.

In fact, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said:

"Nothing has changed about our policy with respect to enabling or encouraging strikes or attacks inside Russia, outside the bounds, of course, of what we have permitted them to do with U.S.-supplied weapons in the past, which is to target imminent threats just across the border. [...] We are reaching out to our Ukrainian counterparts to get a little bit better understanding."

He added that the most appropriate thing is to "let the Ukrainians speak to their operations one way or the other".

"So I would refer you to the Ukrainian Armed Forces to speak to what they’re doing. We’re going to stay focused on making sure they have what they need to defend themselves, of course," Kirby said.

Thus, no one talked about demanding an explanation from Kyiv. 

However, before the full transcript of the press briefing was published on the official website of the White House, many media outlets, including Ukrainian ones, spread the information as it was manipulated and misinterpreted by the Russian propaganda.  

Espreso editorial team kindly reminds that searching for the original source is always better than quoting the White House statements as interpreted by the Kremlin media.

Cross-border raid in Russia’s Kursk region  

On August 6, the authorities of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly tried to break through the Russian border, but were allegedly pushed back. Later, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that "the Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group retreated to its territory.”

The Main Intelligence Directorate refused to comment on the statements regarding the Kursk region. However, NV media, citing its own source in Ukrainian intelligence, wrote that the events in the Kursk region "definitely did not involve fighters of the Russian Volunteer Corps, who are fighting as part of Ukraine's Armed Forces.”

The Institute for the Study of War noted that the Russian Defense Ministry, acting governor of the Kursk region Alexei Smirnov, and some propagandists have different versions of the events in the Kursk region.

On August 7, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin convened the Russian military leadership to discuss the situation in the Kursk region, which he called a "large-scale provocation." At the time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called on the international community to "strongly condemn the Kyiv regime's criminal attacks on Russian territory."