- The attack was the largest incursion into Russia
- The US has consistently tried to empower Ukraine
- The US has implicitly approved the use of its weapons
The US is assessing the impact of Ukraine’s recent assault into Russia’s Kursk region, which has raised questions about the use of American-supplied arms and the potential risks of escalation.
The attack, which was the largest incursion into Russia by a foreign military since World War Two, has caught both Russian and Western leaders by surprise.
The US has consistently tried to empower Ukraine to push back against Russia’s invasion without risking an American escalation with Moscow.
However, the Kursk assault has raised urgent questions for the White House, including whether it expands the boundaries of US limits on weapon use and whether it risks crossing Russia’s red lines.
The US administration has said that Ukraine gave no advance warning of the assault and that Washington had “nothing to do” with it.
However, it is clear that US-provided weapons, including HIMAR rocket launchers, were used in the attack.
The US has implicitly approved the use of its weapons by Ukraine in the Kursk incursion, with officials saying that the assault is “consistent” with their policy of allowing Ukraine to defend itself against attacks coming across the border.
However, the US has also made it clear that it does not support long-range attacks into Russia
