‘Bold, Brilliant, Beautiful’ – Ukraine at War Update for Aug. 13

On Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal each had meetings with US Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) to discuss what Ukraine needed to end the war, ongoing efforts to rebuild energy infrastructure together, plus the defenses need to power through the upcoming winter.

The meetings come as the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) have conquered about 28 towns in Russia’s Kursk region, comprising a Kyiv-reported area of about 1,000 square kilometers (about 386 square miles).

When asked by reporters about Ukraine’s recent incursion into Russia, Graham replied, “What do I think about Kursk? Bold, brilliant, beautiful. Keep it up.”

The Republican senator cheered on the Democratic-led US administration in the White House, who had fought Republicans tooth-and-nail on aid to Kyiv for about a year, to “Give them weapons they need to win the war they can’t afford to lose.”

Graham, notorious in Washington for changing his positions from one week to the next, especially in his thoughts on former president Donald Trump, has been one of a group of Republicans on Capitol Hill to at least offer fairly consistent support of Ukraine.

Three months ago, after his last visit to Ukraine with Blumenthal, Graham called out now-vice-presidential-nominee for Trump, JD Vance, saying he was “wrong” on Ukraine. “He’s wrong about the whole concept,” Graham said.

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Zelensky said Monday that Kyiv believed 11,000 North Korean troops had reached the Kursk border region in Russia, with the West repeatedly warning they could be sent into combat within days.

In his nightly address to the nation Monday, Zelensky thanked the bipartisan delegation for America’s support to date.

“Today I held a meeting with the US Senate delegation. Senators Graham and Blumenthal represent both parties. I thanked America for supporting our defense; and [told them] it is crucial that Ukrainians and Americans are truly victorious in our defense of normal life and people’s freedom,” Zelensky said.

Shmyhal relayed that his talks with Graham and Blumenthal covered Ukraine’s need to bolster air defenses.

“I am glad to welcome US senators and Ukraine’s friends, Lindsey Graham (Republican Party) and Richard Blumenthal (Democratic Party), to Kyiv. I noted that continued bipartisan U.S. support is important in the future... I voiced our need to strengthen air defenses,” Shmyhal wrote, highlighting that the first F-16 fighters are already in Ukraine.

Shmyhal said that, in his discussions with the Americans, he touched on talks about freeing up Western-held frozen Russian assets and turn them over to Kyiv’s defense effort.

“It is important to seize them in full and direct the funds to Ukraine's urgent needs and our reconstruction,” he said.

He also invited American businesses to invest in industries that Kyiv has set as top priorities, in order to contribute to country’s reconstruction and the recovery of the Ukrainian economy.

US State Department promises a “swift and severe response” if Iran sends ballistic missiles to Russia.

On Monday, a US State Department spokesman, Vedant Patel, said that President Joe Biden’s administration is ready to take “swift and severe” action if Tehran goes forward with its plan to send ballistic missiles to Russia.

Patel led off the department’s regular briefing by saying “First, we are deeply concerned by reports that Iran is planning to deliver hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia” and that Washington continues to discuss with European allies and partners “potential measures we may take.”

“Together, we are prepared to deliver a swift and severe response if Iran were to move forward with the transfer of ballistic missiles, which would, in our view, represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine,” the State Department spokesman said.

US officials said the plan hatched between the Kremlin and Iran has been in place since at least 2022.

The cooperation between Iran and Russia “threatens European security and illustrates how Iran’s destabilizing influence reaches beyond the Middle East and [extends] around the world,” Patel said.

He added, “This pending transfer of missiles if the reports are accurate, is further evidence or a continuation of Iran’s destabilizing behavior.”

The Biden administration, with European allies, has already imposed sanctions on suppliers of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia.

Along those lines, Patel said: “Iranian officials also continue to deny providing any UAVs to Russia when evidence is plain for the world to see that Russia has used these UAVs in relentless attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine.”

White House says: If Putin is worried about Kursk, he should withdraw troops from Ukraine

Also on Monday, Washington’s full-court press on Moscow included remarks by National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin should withdraw his troops from Ukraine as the only way to protect forces and civilians in his home country.

At a routine National Security briefing, Kirby said Russia’s claims the West coordinated Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region “is all Putin’s propaganda.”  He added that the only entity coordinating the war in Ukraine is the Kremlin itself.

“If Putin is worried about the situation in the Kursk region, he can stop the war against Ukraine,” Kirby said.