Ukraine’s Kursk Invasion Sends Shockwaves Through Russia: ‘How Did We Miss It?’

3 months ago 9

Ukrainian servicemen drive a Soviet-made T-64 tank in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, on August 11, 2024. Russia acknowledged Ukrainian troops had pierced deep into the Kursk border region in an offensive that a top official in Ukraine said aimed to “destabilize” Russia and “stretch” its forces. (Photo by ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images)

Posted: August 13th, 2024

By Stanislav Kucher

Stanislav Kucher is Editor-in-Chief of the Samizdat Online anti-censorship platform and a former Russian TV presenter. He left Russia in 2019.

EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — The latest bulletins from the Russia-Ukraine war sound like those written in the early days of the February 2022 invasion: Armed forces swarm across the border; swaths of territory are captured; and 180,000 people flee as the invading force advances.

Familiar language – but a totally different story. Now the invaders are Ukrainian, the evacuees are Russians in the southwestern Kursk region, and the Kremlin and its propaganda outlets are struggling to deal with the news and its consequences.

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