preložiť War reporter on Kursk incursion: Putin is angry, panic reigns in the Kremlin, Ukrainians went through the territory like a knife through butter
In Studio ta3, Petra Procházková, a war reporter for the Czech daily newspaper Deník N, talked about what has been happening in the Russian border region since Tuesday, how Russian sources are reporting on the developments and what it means that Moscow has declared a state of federal emergency in the Kursk region.
Putin angry, there may be changes in command
On Friday, Moscow declared a state of emergency in the Kursk region. The difference between a federal state of emergency and a regional state of emergency is that Russia recognizes the gravity of the situation and the operation is being handled in Moscow, not in the regional administration.
In the past, incursions by Ukrainian troops into Russian territory have been swift and have ended quickly. Here, according to Prochazkova, it looks like the Ukrainians are holding their ground and even advancing further.
But what is little discussed, she says, is that while Russia is conquering small villages, it is failing to protect its own territory, and this has caused chaos and anger in the Russian military command in the Kremlin and especially with Putin himself.
Prochazkova thinks we can expect to see movement at the highest levels - both political and military, including in the highest echelons of the Russian military.
Media talk about the West's attack on Russia
Official Russian media sources and social networks are talking about a Western-backed and Western-armed attack on Russia by Ukraine. "It's as if people have forgotten that it was Russia that first attacked Ukraine and that it has been fighting on Ukrainian territory for almost three years now," she said. They present this as an attack by the West on Russia.
"Some military bloggers are literally writing that there is panic in the Russian military command, some are blaming others, a solution to the situation is being sought, public opinion is beginning to doubt the ability of Russian generals to protect the Russian public, and all of this is playing into Ukraine's hands," the war reporter said.
Waiting for retaliation
Prochazkova thinks retaliation will come, and Ukrainians are expecting it. "The Russians still have enough missiles and drones to hit Ukrainian territory, Ukraine is already responding. As far as I know, there has been a large-scale evacuation of civilians in the Sumy region. Already 28 villages have been completely displaced and now another 20 to 25 thousand people are to be evacuated these days," she concluded .
You can watch the full interview below: