MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov said Washington orchestrated the Ukrainian attack on the Kursk Region to test the possibility of invading Russia.

"It was not [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky who sent his brigades into the Kursk Region. It was not the Ukrainian General Staff. It was the Americans feeling out the possibility of invading Russia. This was Americans dipping their toe in the water. This is what we need to understand," he wrote on Telegram.

Azarov added that Washington was not worried about Ukrainian casualties when it sought to get a feel of how well Russia can defend its borders.

Ukrainian forces started a major attack on the Kursk Region on August 6. The government declared a federal-level emergency there and started to evacuate people to safer areas border. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine has lost more than 27,100 servicemen and 177 tanks since the start of fighting in the Kursk area. The operation to destroy Ukrainian formations is ongoing.