Media: Kremlin Tries To Convince Russians Of“New Normal” Amid Ukraine's Incursion

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) The Russian authorities want to convince their citizens that the fighting in Kursk region is the "new normal", expecting that the hostilities will persist at least for a few months.

That's according to RFE/RL , referring to sources close to the Russian presidential administration, Ukrinform reports.

Immediately after the start of the Ukrainian raid in Kursk region, Russian elites were "shocked", sources say, adding that within two weeks, "the shock passed, they got used to it".

According to a recent poll by the government-linked Public Opinion Foundation, the prevalence of anxious sentiment in Russian saw a spike from 6% to 45%. The presidential administration sees these indicators as rather high, hoping for their rapid decrease, a source told the Meduza publication.

At the same time, all interviewed officials are positive that the fighting in Kursk region could last for several months. In order for the anxious moods to "calm down" quicker, the Kremlin is trying to prepare Russians for the "new reality" and "new normal" through propaganda tools.

To this end, the Kremlin offers to convince the Russians that the enemy who went for an incursion into Russian territory will face "inevitable defeat", but "the return of the territories will take time so the Russians have to wait."

Sources say the elites are expecting for the sacking of those responsible for the breakthrough of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Verstka outlet wrote that Ukrainian troops were able to break into Kursk region thanks to the miscalculations on the part of the Russian command, as well as corruption and poor defenses.

The Russian command did not expect the offensive the Kursk region, finding itself unprepared for such developments, Verstka's sources in the Russian armed forces, government, as well as local authorities, told the outlet.

This all led to the lack of combat-hardened units on the border, which led to the mass surrender of conscripts and border guards. The local authorities did not expect an incursion either so no necessary measures were taken to prepare defensive infrastructure.

According to one of the sources, criminal investigations are expected in connection with defense failures. "The Kremlin is mad over the Kursk story. A threat of enemy incursion was not reported in time so now everyone stays low, shifting responsibility onto each other - military onto intelligence, Kursk officials - onto the military..." the publication says.

As Bloomberg wrote with reference to three anonymous sources close to the Kremlin and Ministry of Defense, the Ukrainian incursion that saw little to no resistance exposed the lack of defense reserves in the Russian army. The sources even assumed the need for a new wave of mobilization.

However, a Meduza source close to the government assures that the Cabinet of Ministers, as well as moguls close to the government, strongly oppose mobilization due to problems with labor resources. The source suggests it is more likely that it will be conscripts who will be massively involved in the battles across Kursk region. Two interlocutors close to the president's administration claim that "media preparation of public opinion" is already underway.

As Ukrinform reported, on August 20, Ukrainian troops continued to advance along the entire stretch of the front in Russia's Kursk region and recently achieved additional territorial gains in the area.

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