U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R) and Richard Blumenthal (D) voiced support for Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast during a visit to Kyiv on Aug. 12.
As Kyiv's operation continues into its seventh day, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that Ukrainian forces control abound 1,000 square kilometers in Kursk Oblast. The Kyiv Independent couldn't independently verify this claim.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine's incursion is "solely a security issue," and the country aims to liberate the border from Russian soldiers to protect Sumy Oblast from Moscow's daily attacks.
"What do I think about Kursk? Bold, brilliant, beautiful. Keep it up," Graham told the reporters in Kyiv.
"Let these people fight. Give them weapons they need to win a war they cannot lose."
According to the senator, Washington should lift all restrictions on the use of American-supplied weapons for strikes on Russian soil. Following Russia's Kharkiv Oblast offensive, the U.S. granted Kyiv limited permission to use certain American arms to strike Russian targets near the country's border.
After the incursion into Kursk Oblast, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that Washington hadn't changed its policy of allowing Ukraine to use American-supplied weapons "to target imminent threats just across the border."
During the meeting with Zelensky, the senators discussed further military support for Ukraine, including the provision of air defense systems and missiles, the President's Office said.
Russian official said that Ukraine is in control of 28 settlements in Kursk Oblast as of Aug. 12, claiming that the incursion was up to 12 kilometers deep along a 40 kilometer front.
Although reinforcements sent by Moscow have arrived on the battlefield, Ukraine has reportedly continued to advance farther into Kursk Oblast. Russian authorities have been forced to announce widening civilian evacuation measures in a number of districts bordering Ukraine.
Kateryna Denisova
(Updated: )
