MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. Adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Mikhail Podolyak told The Independent in an interview that Kiev had held discussions with its Western partners before attacking Russia’s borderline Kursk Region.
"There were discussions between partner forces, just not on the public level," Podolyak told the British newspaper.
Earlier, US State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters that Washington did not take part in the planning or preparation for the Ukrainian attack on the Kursk Region.
On August 6, Ukraine launched a major offensive in the borderline Russian region. Air raid sirens have repeatedly rung out there. The massive attack killed 12 civilians and injured 121 people, including 10 children. As many as 69 injured people remain in hospitals, of which 17 are believed to be in grave condition. Over 120,000 people have either left or been evacuated from the Kursk Region. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev has lost roughly 2,300 troops, 37 tanks and 32 armored personnel carriers since fighting began in the Kursk area.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Ukraine would "certainly receive a worthy response" to the attack on the Kursk Region and that all of Russia’s goals will be attained.