PARIS, August 16. /TASS/. The leaders of European Union countries are treading carefully with their comments about the Ukrainian army’s attack on Russia’s Kursk Region for fear of negative consequences, the French newspaper Le Monde writes, citing an unnamed European diplomat.
According to him, the EU leaders’ silence is rooted in "curiosity multiplied by trepidation and anticipation" of the consequences of the Ukrainian attack.
"Clearly, no one will publicly celebrate the Ukrainian invasion of Russia," the diplomat noted.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said on August 14 that Western countries were doing their best to justify Ukraine’s terrorist activities in the Kursk area. Miroshnik pointed out that at the recent UN Security Council Arria-Formula Meeting, the representatives of some countries, namely the UK and France, took a stance "of simply ignoring what is going on, including Ukraine’s raid in the Kursk area."
On August 6, Russia’s borderline Kursk Region came under a massive attack from Ukraine. The majority of residents in the region’s border areas have been temporarily resettled and are safe now. A federal state of emergency is in effect in the region.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine has lost up to 2,640 troops, 37 tanks and 32 armored personnel carriers since fighting began in the Kursk area. The Russian army continues its operation to eliminate the enemy.