Russia convening Arria formula event at UNSC to complain about Ukraine’s operation in Kursk region

Russia is convening an informal meeting of UN Security Council members in the Arria format to complain about the offensive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kursk region.

The event will take place on Tuesday at 17:00 (00:00 Kyiv time), an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The letter sent by the Russian Mission to the UN to members of the Security Council says the topic of discussion will be “crimes” committed by the Kyiv authorities.

As reported by Ukrinform, the initiator of the ‘Arria formula’ meetings, Venezuelan diplomat Diego Arria, condemned Russia for exploiting the format to spread lies and justify aggression against Ukraine.

On August 6, Russian Telegram channels reported fighting on the border claiming the Ukrainian military crossed into Kursk region.

The Ukrainian military made no official statements on this matter.

The Russians declared a counter-terrorist operation regime in the Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod regions due to an alleged threat from Ukraine.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank wrote in its report that the Kremlin likely decided to declare a "counter-terrorist operation" rather than martial law in order to downplay the scale of the developments unfolding in Kursk region and prevent panic or another negative domestic reactions.