US, Ukrainian defense chiefs discuss Ukraine’s battlefield operations

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Wednesday he discussed with his Ukrainian counterpart Kyiv's ongoing battlefield operations.

Austin said he spoke with Rustem Umerov about priority security assistance in a telephone call.

"The United States remains committed to helping Ukraine defend against Russian aggression," Austin wrote on X.

The call came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Ukrainian forces are making advances 1 to 2 kilometers (0.6 to 1.2 miles) into Russia's Kursk region.

Early Aug. 6, Ukraine intensified shelling in the Kursk region. The artillery barrage was followed by an incursion of Ukrainian infantry, supported by tanks and armored vehicles near the city of Sudzha.

US President Joe Biden told reporters Tuesday in New Orleans Louisiana, that he has been in "direct contact" with the Ukrainians, and called the Ukrainian incursion "a real dilemma" for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The White House earlier denied that Ukraine provided Washington with advance notice before it began the large-scale incursion.

US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Monday that Putin should end the war against Ukraine if he is worried about incursion into the region.

"But make no mistake about it: This is Putin's war against Russia. And if he doesn't like it, if it's making him a little uncomfortable, then there's an easy solution: He can just get the hell out of Ukraine and call it a day," he said.