UNITED NATIONS, August 14./TASS/. The use of US weapons by Ukraine in its cross-border attack on the Kursk Region will only escalate the situation, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky told journalists.
"The use of US weapons in Kursk, in Ukraine, or anywhere else for us is an act of escalation, and it will have serious consequences. We are being absolutely blunt about this with our US colleagues," the diplomat said.
Earlier, Bloomberg said referring to its sources that the US and the European Union had given Ukraine their "blessing" to attack Russian soil.
A massive cross-border attack on the Kursk Region began on August 6. A missile warning has been repeatedly issued in the borderline region. According to updated reports, 12 civilians have died, and 121 people have been wounded, including ten children. Sixty-nine people injured as a result of shelling of the Kursk Region are in hospitals, 17 of them are in serious condition. More than 12,000 people have left or have been evacuated from the border areas amid attacks by Ukrainian troops.
According to Defense Ministry updates, Kiev has lost up to 2,030 military personnel, 35 tanks and 31 armored personnel carriers since it launched the cross-border attack.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Ukraine's armed provocation on the Russian border was intended to slow down the Russian Armed Forces' offensive, but Kiev's hopes are futile.