Russia is still trying to form a reaction to Ukraine's operation in Kursk, so far this reaction has been slow and scattered, said commander-in-chief of the NATO joint forces in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli, during the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) event on August 15, Voice of America reports.

The general said that Russia is still putting together a reaction to the invasion of Ukraine. So far, he said, it has only been a rather slow and scattered reaction. According to him, this is partly explained by the fact that Russia does not establish who has the authority. He is reflecting that the Ministry of Defense is responsible for military actions inside Ukraine, but not inside Russia, so, it should be the Ministry of Internal Affairs which is in charge of this.

Such a reaction of the Russian Federation is associated with several factors, according to Cavoli. Firstly, there is a lack of understanding of who should be responsible for the fighting inside Russia, and secondly, the lack of released troops that Russia can attract against the operation in Kursk.

The commander-in-chief stressed that Russia does not have free forces that it can transfer there. He said that the level of involvement and the share of Russian ground forces that are in Ukraine is very significant.

Cavoli also noted that despite the problems that the Ukrainian armed forces faced, he was amazed by the innovations that Ukraine demonstrated militarily, technically and tactically.