Biden calls Ukraine's incursion into Russia a 'real dilemma for Putin'

(Patria) - Ukraine's military incursion into Russia "has created a real dilemma" for Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday, adding that US officials are in constant contact with Ukrainians regarding this move, Reuters reported.

Around 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers breached the Russian border in the early hours of August 6 with tanks and armored vehicles. A US official said late on Tuesday that the goal of the Ukrainian invasion of Kursk appears to be to force Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine to defend Russian territory.

Responding to questions from reporters upon arrival in New Orleans, Biden said he had been briefed every four to five hours for the last six to eight days on Ukraine's action.

"It creates a real dilemma for Putin," he said in his first substantive comments on the operation, which seemed to have caught the Russians off guard.

The US has provided Ukraine with billions of dollars worth of weapons intended primarily for defensive purposes, as Ukraine tries to repel the Russian invasion launched in February 2022. Biden authorized Kyiv in May to use weapons supplied by Washington on military targets within Russia that support the offensive on the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine.

The White House stated that Ukraine did not notify them in advance of this incursion.