"But from the top came the order not to panic and that those above know better," Andrey Gurulyov, a retired major general, said.
  • A Russian lawmaker said Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region didn’t come as a complete surprise.
  • Andrey Gurulyov said the military was warned about the attack a month ago.
  • “But from the top came the order not to panic and that those above know better,” he said.
  • leisesprecherEnglish
    25·
    1 month ago

    This isn’t an operation for land gains, it’s political.

    It’s a huge embarrassment for Putin and might lead him to overreact and pull way more troops into Kursk than needed, thus freeing up capacity elsewhere.

    Also, the myth of the mighty mighty Russian army gets kind of damaged, if basically a second Wagner convoy can just take large chunks of borderlands.

    Putin wants to be seen as strong. And this shows how weak he actually is.