Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has issued a statement accusing the United States, Britain, and Poland of directly supporting the Ukrainian military units responsible for the recent incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. According to the SVR, these Western nations provided training and logistical support to the Ukrainian forces that breached the Russian border earlier this month, leading to heightened tensions between Moscow and the West.
“According to available information, the operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk Region was prepared with the involvement of the security agencies of the US, Britain and Poland,” the SVR said in a statement carried by the newspaper Izvestia on Wednesday.
The SVR’s claims suggest that the US, UK, and Poland played an active role in preparing the Ukrainian units for the operation, which resulted in significant clashes in the border area. The agency further alleged that these countries are deepening their involvement in the conflict by supplying advanced military training and equipment to Ukrainian forces.
The accusations have sparked a strong reaction from the Russian government, which has vowed to take “appropriate measures” in response to what it perceives as direct Western interference in its sovereign affairs. Western officials have yet to respond to the SVR’s allegations, but the situation threatens to escalate the already volatile relations between Russia and NATO member states.