Putin furious with military and 007, appoints former bodyguard to head operations in Kursk –

State of emergency in the Russian region of Belgorod, on the border with Ukraine. “The situation remains extremely complicated and tense – the governor Vyacheslav Gladkov acknowledges on Telegram, as reported by the Russian agency Tass – The Ukrainian Armed Forces are bombing it every day, there are destroyed houses and reports of civilian casualties. For this reason, starting today, the entire territory of the Belgorod region is declared an emergency area at the regional level”. The goal is “to provide additional protection and support to the population”. “Subsequently – adds the governor in a video message – we will ask a government commission to declare an emergency at the federal level”.

The Ukrainian offensive into Russian territory is expanding. The Belgorod region borders the Kursk region, where Kiev forces entered on August 6, claiming to have conquered more than 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory. The incursion of Ukrainian forces into Russia is creating “a real dilemma” for the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden said in a speech to reporters in New Orleans. Biden says he has been speaking regularly with his staff about the situation: “Every 4-5 hours,” the US president explained.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Alexei Dyumin, the Kremlin’s defense industry adviser, to be responsible for the military response to the Ukrainian forces’ cross-border offensive. This was announced by MP Nikolai Ivanov, elected in Kursk. “Dyumin – born in Kursk almost 52 years ago – was summoned yesterday and given the task of supervising the anti-terrorist operation,” Ivanov said in an interview with the Rtvi broadcaster, reported by the Moscow Times, in which he confirmed what some military bloggers had anticipated. His appointment, the Rybar blog points out, should be interpreted as a sign of Putin’s discontent with the military and security leaders.

As deputy director of the GRU military intelligence service, a post he assumed in 2013, Dyumin was one of the key figures in the operation to annex Crimea. Between 2015 and 2016, he was deputy minister of defense. Considered a rising star in Russian politics, Dyumin was governor of the Tula region and, before that, a member of the FPO, the Presidential Protection Service, Putin’s bodyguard. Last May, he was also appointed secretary of the State Council. Like Putin, he is a hockey player.