Putin Should Withdraw From Ukraine If Concerned About Kursk, White House Suggests

The White House has suggested a straightforward solution to Vladimir Putin if he is concerned about the ongoing situation in the Kursk Region: withdraw the Russian troops from Ukraine and end the war.

John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the White House National Security Council, made this statement during an online briefing on Monday, August 12.

Kirby dismissed Russian officials' repeated claims that the West is orchestrating the situation in the Kursk Region as “just more of Putin’s propaganda,” which the Kremlin has been pushing since the invasion of Ukraine began.

“The only ones engaged in war in Ukraine are the Russians themselves. They are the ones invading Ukraine, and Ukraine is defending itself from aggression. This is Russia’s war against Ukraine—nothing more, nothing less—and it’s been that way from the very beginning,” emphasized Kirby.

Regarding the situation in Kursk, Kirby added, “Make no mistake: this is Putin’s war, 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.”

Since the start of last week, Ukrainian forces have been conducting operations in Russia’s Kursk Region and, according to Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi, now control up to 1,000 square kilometers of territory.

On August 12, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially confirmed that Ukrainian forces are conducting operations in the Kursk Region, drawing a comparison between the Kursk submarine disaster.

The Pentagon has stated that Ukraine’s advance in the Kursk region aligns with the US policy and expressed no concern over a potential escalation of tensions with Russia.