Among the Russians “you can see panic, complete surprise and chaos”

Ukrainian army invaded the border region of Kursk August 6. On that day, the Moscow Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian forces “penetrated Russia's southern border and struck the Kursk region with forces numbering up to 300 soldiers, supported by 11 tanks and more than 20 armored personnel carriers.”

The number of Ukrainian soldiers and equipment transferred to Kursk Oblast could actually be much higher. During the fighting that lasted for over a week, Ukrainians were able to take control of 44 towns in the Russian border region. The most important achievement is taking control of the city of Sudjawhere the gas measuring station is located, through which Russian raw material is sent to Europe.

– On the Russian side, panic, complete surprise and chaos are visible – assessed Colonel Maciej Matysiak, an expert from the Stratpoints foundation and former deputy head of the Military Counterintelligence Service, on TVN24. In his opinion, the Russian narrative is “oriented towards its own society”.

Matysiak reminded that the authorities Russia announced the conduct of a “counterterrorist operation” in the Kursk region, they evacuate neighboring districts and introduce an information blockade.

– However, taking into account what Russia has at its disposal and what it is sending to the Kursk region against Ukrainians, it is clear that these are ad hoc actions and it will take some time before the Russians get organized – said the interlocutor of “Wstajesz i wiesz”.

Russian pro-Kremlin media showed the evacuation of civilians living in Kursk and Belgorod regions. When asked about the significance of this message, Matysiak replied that “propaganda matters because President Putin's regime must control the narrative within and cannot allow it to show weakness, disorganization, or chaos.”

Meanwhile, as the Stratpoints foundation expert stated, the Ukrainians are “exposing all the weaknesses” of the Putin regime by carrying out a military operation on Russian territory.

Matysiak assessed that the fighting in Kursk Oblast “is significant for many reasons”. – First of all, the propaganda and media effects, Ukrainian activity and showing that Ukrainians are capable, that Russia is weak and not as strong as the narrative shows, and that Ukrainians are not only reactive, but are also active and impose the narrative – enumerated the TVN24 interlocutor.

– It also exposes the weakness of the (Putin – editorial note) administration and transfers the conflict to some extent to the territory of Russia – said Matysiak, noting that “it also makes the Russian population feel partly what the Ukrainian population feels”.

According to the TVN24 interlocutor, the thousand kilometers of Russian territory controlled by Ukrainian forces are “two areas of Warsaw”. – I appeal for sobriety in assessment and not to shake our hopes for a radical change in this war – he stated, assessing the achievements of the Ukrainian army in Russia so far.

Matysiak, asked whether the fighting in Kursk Oblast could affect potential peace talks, replied that “there will be no talks about peace, but there will be talks about some kind of ceasefire.” The expert admitted that an offensive in Russia could be significant because “it is a bargaining chip.” “War is an element of politics, and politics governs everything,” said the “Wstajesz i wiesz” interviewee.