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President Joe Biden said this week that he was in “constant contact” with the Ukrainians related to the ongoing invasion of Kursk oblast. “I’ve spoken with my staff on a regular basis probably every four or five hours for the last six or eight days,” Biden told reporters about the fighting in Kursk, which is now at a week-and-a-half.

“And it’s — it’s creating a real dilemma for Putin.  And we’ve been in direct contact — constant contact with — with the Ukrainians,” he added. “That’s all I’m going to say about it while it’s active.”

From the start, US officials have acted like they were in the dark the whole time as to Ukraine’s plans, likely for the purpose of plausible deniability and so Kiev isn’t seen by Moscow as having been directly backed by NATO in the brazen cross-border operation.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby had initially said on Friday, “We’re in touch with our Ukrainian counterparts, and we are working to gain a better understanding of what they’re doing, what their goals are, what their strategy is, and I’m going to leave a little bit of space for us to have those conversations before I try to characterize what’s going on.”

But on Thursday there are the following interesting lines from the NY Times pointing out that top US officials have been quick to boast about how the operation has dealt a blow to the “hubris” of Putin: 

The operation itself will not drive Russia to the bargaining table, according to U.S. officials. Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, has pledged not to negotiate while Ukraine occupies Russia, and American officials said he should be taken at his word.

But in public speeches, the C.I.A. director, William J. Burns, has spoken about the need to puncture the hubris of Mr. Putin. Russia will not make any concessions, he has said, until Mr. Putin’s overconfidence is challenged and Ukraine shows strength on the battlefield.

The Times also proclaims that this operation has embarrassed Putin and exposed weaknesses. And US officials further say that the fight is about to get a lot dirtier and more risky, in expectation of future sabotage and cross-border campaigns. 

“American officials say Ukraine will have to build on the operation, with other daring operations that can push back against Russia’s sense that its victory is inevitable,” writes NY Times. “Whether that will include more cross-border incursions, secret sabotage missions or other yet-to-be-planned operations remains to be seen.”

These future operations might involve use of US-supplied equipment, just like with the current Kurks mission: “The lack of warning to Kyiv’s foremost Western ally took on even greater meaning when it became clear that Ukraine was using American-supplied vehicles, arms and munitions to help carry out the bold ground operation into Russia,” the report continues.

Ukrainian forces conduct an ambush in Kursk. Seems like there are a lot of these small groups conducting operations in areas the Russians feel are safe to travel. pic.twitter.com/pms8tvKt5H

— Preston Stewart (@prestonstew_) August 15, 2024

Politico is meanwhile separately reporting that the Biden administration is now “open” to providing Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles, which would be “a move that would give Kyiv’s F-16s greater combat punch as it seeks to gain further momentum in its fight against Russia,” according to the publication.

Ukrainian operations and heavy fighting have also reportedly spread to the Belgorod region. Kiev continues to tout ‘victories’ – including the capture of another 100 Russian soldiers on Thursday. Dramatic accounts like the following continue to come out in Western publications: 

A Ukrainian soldier who participated in the first forays of last week’s Kursk incursion said his unit caught Russian troops completely by surprise as the latter were having coffee. His account, published by The Financial Times, adds to a chorus of assessments that Russia had been unprepared and blindsided by Ukraine’s rare cross-border attack on August 6.

The FT wrote that the soldier, identified as Volodymyr, was part of a unit operating a US-provided Stryker armored fighting vehicle.

Volodymyr told the outlet that his unit entered Kursk in the late morning of August 6, and soon found a group of Russian troops “sitting in the forest, drinking coffee at a table.”

“Then our Stryker drives right into their table,” he said, per the FT. “We killed many of them on the first day. Because they were unarmed and didn’t expect us,” he added.

More mass surrenders of Russians in Kursk. https://t.co/UMcumnK8iG

— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) August 15, 2024

And now Zelensky has opened a new administrative center in Ukraine. “Ukraine solidified its control over the parts of Russia’s Kursk region it has taken in a 10-day offensive, announcing Thursday the appointment of a military commander to manage the area as well as new battlefield successes,” The Washington Post writes.

The cross-border assault has unfolded over the past ten days, with Ukrainian officials recently floating a plan to hold territory inside Russia as a “buffer zone”. However, Russia has been sending heavy manpower to the region, as well as aerial power.