Ukrainian troops in Russia? Meh, it’s the ‘new norm,’ says Putin’s propaganda

According to Ukraine, troops are still advancing in Kursk. They have advanced 35 kilometers into the region and have taken control of 93 settlements.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that the goal is to create a “buffer zone” within Russia.

The digging of bunkers is a good indication that Russia expects the occupation of Ukraine to continue for some time, Konrad Muzyka, an independent defense analyst and director of Rochan Consulting, told the Telegraph.

Ukrainian troops have yet to set up defense lines, a U.S. official told ABC News on Wednesday.

A recent Russian poll found that public fear had increased dramatically since the Kursk operation, with 45 percent of respondents reporting that there was a “mood of fear” in society.

Jade McGlynn, researcher at King’s College London and author of The Russian Warsaid pollution was still at manageable levels and was mainly confined to border regions.

The Kremlin is confident that it can make the population accept almost anything, she said, because there is widespread apathy and depoliticization in Russia.

“Most Russians are not happy with what is happening, but they are also not that concerned when it is so far from their home,” McGlynn said.

“The message is, ‘There’s nothing to see here, just get on with your life,’” she added.

Unlike the reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when Ukrainians quickly mobilized for the war effort, there has been no surge of patriotism among the local population in Kursk.

“Putin is not humiliated, but there is also not enough anger over the Ukrainian operation to convince people to join the fight,” McGlynn said.

“If you listen to the people in Kursk, they blame NATO, Ukraine or international powers. This is a reflection of how successful Russian propaganda is in portraying the war as an extension of an East-West struggle,” Muzyka said.

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“Many already believe that it is not Ukraine that is being attacked, but Russia, that this is a defensive war. The Kursk operation feeds that.”

Domestic propaganda tries to portray it as a Western operation run by mercenaries, and tries to focus fears on humanitarian aid for the people of Kursk.

Meanwhile, news coverage focuses on Russian successes in the Donbas, where its forces continue to advance.

According to Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor of Kursk, 133,190 people have left or been evacuated from the region.

Putin has said Moscow will give a “worthy response” to the Kursk invasion, which he described as a major provocation.