SwedenLivingWorld world_2_fill WorldBusiness BusinessSports sports-soccer SportsEntertainmentEntertain

"Fleeing Russians create new crisis for the Kremlin"

Tens of thousands of people are forced to flee the worst battles on Russian soil since the Second World War. When the war comes to Russia, the Kremlin wants to downplay Ukraine's surprising offensive and its consequences.

» Updated: 21 August 2024, 06:00

» Published: 13 August 2024

"Fleeing Russians create new crisis for the Kremlin"
Photo: AP/TT

We left things behind that we've collected over 50 years, but I don't want to go back, says an elderly and tearful woman as the independent Russian newspaper Novaja Gazeta speaks with her in the Russian city of Kursk, a few miles from the battles at the border with Ukraine.

During nearly two and a half years of war, millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes from the Russian invasion forces and regular air attacks. Since Ukraine's military launched a larger offensive across the border a week ago, the war has now also driven more than a hundred thousand Russians to flee.

The authorities' evacuations were delayed. Many residents fled on their own when the shelling began to thunder.

One of them, Ljubov, tells Mediazona how she and her family left home without any belongings:

We left our pets behind because we counted on being able to return. Now artillery fire, tank fire. Enemy forces are sitting along the forest and shelling all cars that come. Roads and fields are mined.

Some residents are still hiding in their homes, with limited contact with the outside world.

Not too sensational

The Ukrainian forces were able to, by taking a flawed Russian defense by surprise, advance at least a mile into Russia. Battles are raging on and Russia appears to need to redeploy forces from other front sections.

Previous advances from the Ukrainian side have been repelled within a few days, but this is a full-scale offensive with much more advanced capabilities and material. A successful Russian defense is estimated to take several weeks.

Russia's state-controlled media have been given directives to downplay Ukraine's advances, reports Meduza. They should not be highlighted as sensational – and there should be no talk of a new front, according to the Kremlin's orders.

Propaganda media primarily highlight alleged successful defense measures or authorities' relief efforts. The offensive is portrayed as part of a Western plot to destroy Russia.

Psychological price

Several analysts describe it as a Ukrainian gamble to take the war to Russia in this way. Militarily, it's about making Russia pay a high price to retake the border areas, writes British analyst Michael Clarke in The Times:

"Its political success depends on what it does to the psychology in Moscow; whether it sows genuine doubt in Putin's inner circle about whether the war is really worth the constantly increasing cost."

Since Russia launched the large-scale war of aggression in Ukraine in February 2022, the vast majority of all war deaths and destruction have occurred on Ukrainian soil.

Ukraine has also carried out attacks on targets in Russia, and they have become more frequent as the war has dragged on.

It has partly been shelling across the front line in border areas and attacks with projectiles from the air, such as drones that have reached far into Russia in attacks on, among other things, oil facilities and airfields. In 2023, drones struck several times in central Moscow.

On several occasions, armed forces have crossed or attempted to cross the border from Ukraine to Russia in smaller raids. Ukraine-supported groups of Russian resistance fighters, such as the Russian Freedom Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps, have in 2023 and the spring of 2024 penetrated into Russia and briefly taken control of smaller communities before being pushed back.

Tags
TTT
By TTThis article has been altered and translated by Sweden Herald

More news

Paddler got stuck – had to be amputated in the middle of the river
1 MIN READ

Paddler got stuck – had to be amputated in the middle of the river

Zelensky: 800 Russian bombs in a week
1 MIN READ

Zelensky: 800 Russian bombs in a week

Lebanese soldier killed in Israeli attack
1 MIN READ

Lebanese soldier killed in Israeli attack

Hospital Chief in Gaza Injured in Israeli Attack
1 MIN READ

Hospital Chief in Gaza Injured in Israeli Attack

Merkel: Trump was obsessed with getting rid of German cars
1 MIN READ

Merkel: Trump was obsessed with getting rid of German cars

Almost 80,000 fallen Russian soldiers identified
1 MIN READ

Almost 80,000 fallen Russian soldiers identified

Rabbi found dead – Israel claims terror
1 MIN READ

Rabbi found dead – Israel claims terror

After Pélicot: Massive protests against men's violence
3 MIN READ

After Pélicot: Massive protests against men's violence

Yemenis forced to the front line – under threat of arms
1 MIN READ

Yemenis forced to the front line – under threat of arms

France does not rule out soldiers in Ukraine
1 MIN READ

France does not rule out soldiers in Ukraine

Trump has chosen the last minister
1 MIN READ

Trump has chosen the last minister

Fell Ill – Woke Up on His Own Funeral Pyre
1 MIN READ

Fell Ill – Woke Up on His Own Funeral Pyre

130 hamsters stopped flights for five days
1 MIN READ

130 hamsters stopped flights for five days

Rabbi gone missing – Israel suspects terrorism
1 MIN READ

Rabbi gone missing – Israel suspects terrorism

Massive Protest Against Housing Prices in Barcelona
1 MIN READ

Massive Protest Against Housing Prices in Barcelona

Putin's Trick: Fight - Get Debts Written Off
1 MIN READ

Putin's Trick: Fight - Get Debts Written Off

Election Victory for Modi's Party in Key State
1 MIN READ

Election Victory for Modi's Party in Key State

No Russian adoptive children to trans-friendly countries
1 MIN READ

No Russian adoptive children to trans-friendly countries

Sudan's military: Important city retaken
2 MIN READ

Sudan's military: Important city retaken

Hamas: Hostage Killed in Northern Gaza
1 MIN READ

Hamas: Hostage Killed in Northern Gaza