Russian ambassador to U.S. says Putin has plan of action for Kursk incursion

(Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin has formulated a response to the ongoing Ukrainian incursion in the Kursk region and those responsible for attacking Russia will be punished, Russian ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov said.

"I tell you sincerely that the president has made a decision," the TASS state news agency quoted Antonov as saying late on Thursday. "I am firmly convinced that everyone will be severely punished for what has happened in Kursk region."

The comments by Antonov, who did not provide further details on Putin's plans, came after the Kremlin leader held a meeting on Thursday with senior officials, including the governors of border regions, over two weeks after Ukraine launched its lightning attack, the biggest incursion into Russia by a foreign power since World War Two.

Antonov, who has served in his post since 2017, also warned in comments published by the RIA state news agency that the U.S. will at some point remove all restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine.

"The current administration behaves like a person who extends one hand and holds a dagger behind their back with another one," Antonov said, describing Washington's recent comments about Kyiv not being allowed to use U.S. weapons for strikes deep into Russian territory as "goading".

"They are, essentially, laying ground (for a decision) to simply remove all the existing restrictions at a certain point, without much thought," he said.

The United States has provided Ukraine with more than $55 billion worth of military aid since 2022, but has limited the use of its weapons to Ukrainian soil and counterfire, defensive crossborder operations.

Kyiv has said it has used U.S.-made weapons in Kursk, including glide bombs and HIMARS rocket systems.

Washington has not commented directly on the use of U.S.-made weapons in Kursk region but has said that U.S. policies have not changed and that Ukraine is defending itself from Russia's invasion.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)