The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that it called for a meeting with Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy, Stephanie Holmes, after an American private military company allegedly took part in the recent Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region.
On August 20, US Charge d’Affaires Stephanie Holmes was summoned to the @mfa_russia.
А strong protest was lodged in response to the provocative actions of American journalists who illegally entered the Kursk Region
https://t.co/fhE6uWwWXm pic.twitter.com/hhH5pXS201
— MFA Russia
(@mfa_russia) August 20, 2024
According to Russia Today, “The diplomat was issued a demarche over the involvement of an American private military company (PMC) in Kiev’s incursion into Kursk Region and the ‘provocative actions’ of American journalists who illegally entered Russian territory to cover the cross-border attack.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday suggested American soldiers participating in the incursion “contradicts” Biden administration claims that the U.S. has not been involved in “attacks by Ukrainian neo-Nazis on Russia.”
The American private military company (PMC), or the Forward Observation Group, posted images of their fighters in Kursk wearing blue armbands worn by Ukrainian troops fighting against Russia.
Additionally, the Kremlin voiced concerns about American journalists entering Russian soil during Kiev’s Kursk operation, claiming they “illegally entered into Kursk Region to provide propaganda coverage of the crimes committed by the Kiev regime.”
Moscow said, “US citizens involved in these crimes will face necessary investigative actions by the competent agencies in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to ensure they are held accountable.”
Any Americans fighting alongside Ukrainian troops inside Russia will be treated as if they’re enemy combatants, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
This is the biggest escalation yet. https://t.co/9VGaCaNhSj
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 20, 2024
Vladimir Putin’s government accusing America of knowingly participating in the boldest incursion into Russia yet is a huge escalation that risks dragging the U.S. into a global war.