"Ukraine did not discuss its planning of the Kursk offensive with NATO in advance. In this respect, NATO played no role," Stoltenberg said in an interview to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Stoltenberg argued that the choice of methods to defend itself lied with Ukraine and that its right to self-defense did not end at the internationally recognized Russian border.
Russian presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev said Ukraine would not have risked an incursion into Russia without a go-ahead from NATO and Western intelligence agencies. NATO countries have funneled weapons and military instructors to Ukraine and are providing intelligence and controlling Ukrainian actions, he added.
Early on August 6, Ukrainian forces crossed the border into Russia and launched an offensive in the Kursk Region. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the move a large-scale provocation that aimed at civilians and vowed a proper response.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on August 31 that Ukrainian troops had lost over 8,200 servicemen and 76 tanks in the offensive.