The Kremlin is trying to play down the threat from the unprecedented Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk region, presenting it as a local force majeure problem like a natural disaster. He writes about it Bloomberg, analyzing the latest actions and statements of the Russian authorities.
On Friday, President Vladimir Putin gathered top Russian officials for another meeting of the Security Council. However, the central topic was not the first invasion of Russia by a foreign army in 80 years, but "new technical decisions made during a special military operation."
The Russian mass media also concentrate their attention not so much on the Ukrainian invasion as such, but on the topic of humanitarian aid to people affected by the events in the Kursk region. As Bloomberg points out, in fact, the Kremlin is trying to create in Russians a sense of a certain "normality" of events in the Kursk region, as if a large-scale flood or other natural disaster is taking place there.
"The Kremlin does not want to send a message that the enemy is at the gates. They don't want to send a message about Ukraine's strength and their own weakness." — said Olga Oliker, Director for Europe and Central Asia of the International Crisis Group in Brussels.
The Kremlin seems unwilling to even acknowledge the fact of the invasion. For example, on Monday, the Kremlin press service issued a statement that Putin discussed "current issues" with high-ranking officials regarding the "situation" on the border.
During one such meeting, which was broadcast online, Putin sharply interrupted acting the governor of the Kursk region, Oleksiy Smirnov, when he began to describe the scale of Ukrainian actions. The dictator ordered the governor to focus on issues of aid to refugees, and to leave military assessments to the Ministry of Defense.
Although anxiety is growing among ordinary Russians, apathy remains the dominant reaction of society to the Kursk events, according to Mykhailo Vinogradov, head of the St. Petersburg Politics Foundation. "Anxiety dominates, not a desire for revenge," he said.
According to Serhii Markov, a political consultant close to the Kremlin, Putin wants to minimize the stress level among Russians who are already unhappy with the failure of the Russian army to destroy Ukraine. "But the authorities have a plan B, and if society demands to do everything for victory, then we will mobilize." - he said.
Putin avoids "emotional statements so that he doesn't have to act radically, especially in circumstances where he's not sure he has the resources to act tough. In any crisis, he prefers to take a break and wait." - says Vinogradov.
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