MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has briefed members of a US congressional delegation on the situation on the frontline, including Kiev’s attack on Russia’s borderline Kursk Region.

"I held substantive negotiations with the delegation of the House of Representatives of the US Congress during their visit to Ukraine <...>. We informed our American partners about the current situation on the frontlines, in particular, in the territories adjacent to the Sumy Region (which borders Russia’s Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions - TASS)," he wrote on Facebook (prohibited in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which is designated as extremist).

According to Umerov, "the most important needs of the Ukrainian army" were also discussed.

US Department of State Spokesperson Vedant Patel said earlier that Washington was not "engaged or involved in any of the planning or preparation for" the Ukrainian army’s attack on the Kursk Region. However, Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, said that Kiev had discussed its plans to carry out the attack with its Western partners.

On August 6, Russia’s borderline Kursk Region came under a massive attack from Ukraine. A state of federal emergency is in effect in the region. According to the Emergencies Ministry, over 122,000 people have been evacuated from nine border municipalities in the Kursk Region, with temporary accommodation centers set up in 28 Russian regions. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev has lost more than 4,400 troops, as well as 65 tanks and 53 armored personnel carriers, since fighting began in the Kursk area. The operation to destroy Ukrainian troops continues. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Ukraine "will definitely receive a worthy response" for attacking the Kursk Region, while Moscow would achieve all its goals.