Putin shifting responsibility for developments in Kursk region onto other officials - ISW

13.08.2024 10:09

Ukrinform

Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to portray himself as an effective and knowledgeable manager of the situation along the Ukrainian-Russian border and to shift responsibility for ongoing challenges in responding to the Ukrainian incursion in the area onto other Russian military and government officials.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said this in a new Russian offensive campaign assessment, Ukrinform reports.

Putin held a meeting on August 12 with Russian military, security, and federal and regional government officials about the situation in the Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk regions during which he assigned tasks to the Russian military and security structures in the Kursk region and offered his assessments of the political situation surrounding Ukraine's incursion into Russia.

Putin chastised Kursk Region Acting Governor Alexei Smirnov for speaking about issues that Putin deemed to be solely under the Russian Ministry of Defense's (MoD) purview and instructed Smirnov to only speak about the socio-economic situation in the Kursk region.

Putin also responded to First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov's claim that "all other issues are under control," noting that Manturov failed to speak about several key social issues.

Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov asked Putin directly to implement certain social policies to help civilians in the Belgorod region but Gladkov and Bryansk Region Governor Alexander Bogomaz both avoided Putin's ire by not commenting on military issues, the ISW said.

"Putin's assertion that each official has only one responsibility contrasts with his attempt to frame himself as capable of overseeing and competently understanding the political, socio-economic, and military situation along the international border," ISW experts said.

Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi stated on August 12 that the Ukrainian Armed Forces controlled about 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory.