Developments in Kursk region turn the tables on Putin - Bloomberg

Developments in Russia's Kursk region undermine the image of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin as the "protector of ordinary Russians" and are likely to bolster Ukraine's argument that U.S. and European allies should not fear Kremlin threats of "escalation."

That is according to Bloomberg, Ukrinform reports.

According to the news outlet, Putin's invasion of Ukraine led to a Ukrainian intervention across the border into Russia, which caused confusion in the Kremlin. The incursion caught out the Russian military.

"It's the first time since World War II that another country's army has invaded Russia," Bloomberg wrote.

On Wednesday, Putin summoned his army and security-service chiefs for an explanation since Russian military bloggers accused top officials of "staggering incompetence."

Ukraine has said nothing about the mission or its goals. Theories abound, from an attempt to seize territory as a potential bargaining chip in future negotiations with Moscow, to a diversionary tactic to ease pressure on stretched defenses in Ukraine by drawing Russian forces away from the frontline.

"The episode exposed the fragility of Russian border defenses with growing numbers of its soldiers fighting in Ukraine. It has boosted Ukrainian morale. And it has also punctured the Kremlin's carefully constructed image of Putin as the protector of ordinary Russians," Bloomberg reported.

Instead, the war the Russian dictator started in Ukraine now spills increasingly into Russia, where people in border regions live under constant risk of shelling and drones strike key industrial facilities.

"For Ukraine, it's likely to bolster Kyiv's argument that U.S. and European allies shouldn't fear Kremlin threats of escalation and that it should be allowed to take the fight to Putin in any way it sees fit to hasten an end to the war," the news story reads.