Russian authorities have been left scrambling for more than a week in light of the astonishing military success achieved by Ukraine in Kursk.
In less than two weeks, Kyiv has managed to overturn the world’s perception of how the war is going by successfully pushing through the Russian region of Kursk, which borders Ukraine‘s Sumy, seizing several settlements and capturing dozens of troops.
The surprise incursion, which marks the first invasion suffered by Russia by the hand of a foreign army since World War 2, has forced authorities in Kursk as well as in another border region, Belgorod, to evacuate more than 200,000 people.
Moreover, uncovering the panic slithering within the Kremlin, Russia is believed to have tasked workers with building defensive structures around 17 kilometres north of Ukraine’s furthest position in Kursk and to be advertising for personnel to help dig trenches along the line.
While Moscow panics, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed his troops were still gaining terrain in Kursk, having advanced between one to two kilometres in several directions.
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Ukraine has been keen to stress its incursion isn’t a land-grab exercise but, rather, it aims at defending its territory.
Ukrainian officials likely hope the manoeuvre will force Russia to re-focus its attention and troops within its country, alleviating the pressure still existing on the frontline – and particularly in the Donbas region.
Moreover, the territory seized and prisoners of war captured may become leverage for future talks over POWs exchange or even a ceasefire.
While the Russian aggression in Ukraine hasn’t stopped since Kyiv’s incursion into Kursk began on August 6, it has forced Putin to offer financial incentives for conscripts joining the army.
As the war he started two and a half years ago was so abruptly brought into his country to show Russians once again that the so-called Russian “special military operation” was not going as planned, one expert believes the Russian President’s leadership is “already being questioned”.
Abbas Gallyamov, who worked for Putin from 2008 to 2012, said the Ukrainian incursion could seriously undermine Putin’s authority.
Now Express.co.uk is asking its readers whether they think the Russian President could be overthrown following the Ukrainian incursion.