Putin is panicking about Kursk

As Ukrainian forces continue to gain ground in the Russian region of Kursk, the humiliation for Vladimir Putin is growing. Faced with a mounting crisis, the Kremlin is responding in the only way it knows how: deflection and disinformation. A briefing by Russia’s foreign intelligence service (SVR) published this morning argued that ‘Zelensky is taking crazy steps that threaten to escalate far beyond Ukraine.’ The SVR claimed that there is growing unhappiness in the US with the Ukrainian president over the incursion and that they are looking to replace him with a more malleable candidate – supposedly one who will better represent the West’s interests at future peace negotiations.

The intelligence service’s warning that Ukraine’s invasion of Russian territory – the first since the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 – could escalate is a reminder that Putin will be looking for a way to respond to what he has already deemed a ‘major provocation’.