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Putin downplays the biggest attack on Russian soil since World War II. Others blame the situation in the Ukraine war.
KURSK – This is the biggest attack on Russian territory since World War II: the Ukrainian attack on the Russian border region of Kursk. The pressure on Vladimir Putin is increasing with the current loss of Russian territory. So far Putin has not said much about the events of the past few days. Now he is passing the responsibility for the surprise incursion from Ukraine to other authorities.
According to the Kremlin chief, “the problems lie with the security authorities.” The president made the announcement at a virtual meeting on Thursday (August 22) on the situation in the Russian regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk, bordering Ukraine, according to reports. News week.
“I hope, as has been said today, that there will be interaction between local and regional authorities, the government and security services, and that this will also play a positive role in achieving our goals,” Putin told regional governors and Kremlin officials.
Kremlin’s reaction to Kursk advance: Putin orders to regain control of Kursk in October
The Ukrainian advance into Russian territory is causing problems for Moscow’s leaders. © Uncredited/AP/dpa
“This is his usual reaction in such situations,” explains Russian political analyst Ekaterina Shulman, referring to bad news for the Kremlin. “He disappears until the situation calms down and then acts as if everything is normal.”
The situation in the Ukrainian war after the Kursk attack: Russia ignores the situation and losses
Putin delivered his strongest response to the Ukrainian attack yet in an unexpected place: in front of three mothers who lost their children in an Islamist attack on a school in Beslan in the North Caucasus in 2004. During a visit to commemorate the attack, he compared Ukrainian forces to Islamist attackers and vowed to “defeat” them.
Meanwhile, reports on the humanitarian situation in Kursk dominate Russian state television. Television footage shows people and volunteers being evacuated from their homes. There is hardly any anger at the rapid advance of Ukrainian forces or criticism of the slow reaction of the Russian military, says Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Center for Russia and Eurasia Research in Berlin.
The scale of the attack is large. Ukraine has reportedly seized more territory in the Kursk region than Russia has in Ukraine since the beginning of the year.
Popular perception: losing Kursk in Ukraine war is “painful”
But the latest opinion polls in Russia show that failures are reducing the popularity of Russians. According to experts, after 30 months of war against Ukraine, the Russian people have become accustomed to receiving reports about the gains and losses of their armed forces. However, the attack on Russian territory was “painful, as can be seen from the reactions,” Gabuev says. There is a difference “between losing Russian territory and losing occupied territory” in Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine: the origins of the conflict with Russia
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Gabuev doubts that the national attitude towards the war in Ukraine will not change. “I don’t think that this kind of defeat is big news for the Russian elite or the Russian people,” he explains. In Moscow, where important news arrives every few weeks, such shock passes quickly. Political scientist Tatiana Stanovaya says that the Ukrainian advance is “simply considered part of the war.” ‘There is no feeling at the national level’ (PG/DPA).
