Kursk Assault 'Severe Blow' to Putin: EU's Borrell

The EU's top diplomat said Wednesday that Ukraine's Kursk counteroffensive had dealt a "severe blow" to Vladimir Putin's war narrative, while calling for a lifting of restrictions on Kyiv using Western-supplied weapons inside Russia.

Josep Borrell's comments came two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his plea for partner countries to let it use long-range weapons deep inside Russia -- in order to halt Moscow's advance in eastern Ukraine.

Writing on X after speaking with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Borrell called the Kursk offensive "a severe blow to Russian President Putin's narrative."

He went on to argue for "lifting restrictions on the use of capabilities vs the Russian military involved in aggression against Ukraine, in accordance with international law."

The EU foreign policy chief argued such a shift would "strengthen Ukrainian self defence by ending Russia's sanctuary for its attacks" as well as saving lives and advancing peace efforts.

Borrell said the matter would be on the agenda for discussions during back-to-back meetings of EU foreign and defence ministers taking place on August 29 and 30 in Brussels, in presence of Kuleba.

Two and a half years into the war, Kyiv seized back the initiative by sending troops into Russia's western Kursk region on August 6 -- claiming to have captured dozens of settlements and sending thousands fleeing.

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Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Moscow had hit Ukraine using a new-generation intermediate-range missile -- which he hinted was capable of unleashing a nuclear payload.

But the epicentre of the conflict remains eastern Ukraine, where Russia's better-equipped army continue to advance -- capturing several towns and villages in recent days even as Moscow fights off the Kursk counterattack.