This operation is a part of Ukraine’s ongoing, legitimate efforts to defend itself and re-establish territorial integrity following Russia’s full-scale military invasion in February 2022. As of now, Ukrainian armed forces have seized control of more than two dozen settlements, encompassing about 1,000 square kilometres of the Kursk region.

A glitch in the Kremlin-fabricated matrix

These Ukrainian advances have delivered a stark message, much like other recent events that have exposed fractures in the Kremlin’s projected total control over events unfolding in Russia.

Prigozhin’s march towards Moscow a year ago revealed internal fissures and authorities’ inability to adjust to rapidly developing situations. Meanwhile, numerous Ukrainian missile and drone strikes against military installations deep within Russia, such as the recent strike in Lipetsk and forcing the Russian Black Sea Fleet to flee from Crimea, have repeatedly pierced the Kremlin-nurtured delusion of invulnerability.

These events together reveal that Putin’s vaunted red lines are mere bluff, that Russian authorities are more inclined to swallow their own propaganda than to believe field reports, and that Russian military forces are spread so thinly they’re incapable of protecting their own soil in a war of Putin’s making.

The Kremlin reaction to the unfolding situation? To orchestrate a recorded sit-down along the long table, where Putin was spoon-fed lies about the situation being under control.

Escape deeper into the rabbit hole

As events continue to unfold in the Kursk region, the Kremlin’s propaganda machine has kicked into high gear, spreading disinformation to distort reality on the ground.

Pro-Kremlin outlets have labelled Ukraine’s military operation as ‘barbaric’ and ‘terrorist’, throwing unsubstantiated claims that it targets civilians – a tactic Russia itself has employed time and again in Ukraine. They have also pushed baseless narratives that the operation was ‘planned and sanctioned by the US’, falsely portraying Ukraine as Washington’s puppet, and even accused NATO of ‘directly supervising’ the advance with fabricated claims of French and Polish troop involvement. Lastly, pro-Kremlin manipulators have resorted to absurdities, claiming that this ‘final battle’ in Kursk will lead to Ukraine’s downfall and spell doom for NATO, Europe, and the US.

These lies serve to demonise Ukraine’s defensive actions, portray Russia as a victim, and deceive audiences into believing that Russia is fighting all the Western powers. In reality, Ukraine is acting well within its rights of self-defence under the UN Charter and responding to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

When an act reveals the full plot

Ukraine’s advance in Kursk is not only a striking military move, but also a multi-pronged vehicle for communications.

Such acts serve as an effective counter to the Kremlin’s continued attempts to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, spoil its relationships with supporters, and force an unjust peace on the Kremlin’s terms.

Advances also demonstrate to Ukrainian home audiences and supporters alike that Ukraine remains both capable and resolute in its fight. Moreover, these advances cut through the many layers of manipulation and fog of disinformation that the Kremlin has been spreading.

The Kremlin’s lies and weaknesses have been exposed for everyone to witness. As President Zelenskyy put it, ‘Russia brought war to others, now it’s coming home.’

Also making our eyes roll this week:

• As a naked attempt to justify yet another repressive move by Russian authorities, Kremlin mouthpieces pushed unsubstantiated claims suggesting that the Signal messaging app was developed and kept afloat with US intelligence funding. Associating public funding that Signal has received, and openly reported on, to US intelligence services is nothing but an attempt to discredit the app to justify its blocking in Russia (and possibly in Russia’s ally Venezuela). This blockade is another part of a planned, years-long expansion of restrictions and control of the internet and social media in Russia which, when this disinformation story appeared in August 2024, had just been extended to YouTube.
• Mistaking the bottom of their empty glasses for a crystal ball, Kremlin disinformers decided to spread rants about how the EU is apparently, yet again, on the verge of hunger and political chaos. This inebriated illusion of geopolitical foresight draws far-fetched comparisons between the EU’s development and that of the long-dead Soviet Union, fitting neatly into a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the EU’s alleged imminent collapse. Wrong analogies and highly questionable comparisons between the EU and liberal democracies and the Soviet Union or Russia are a regular manipulative tactic used by pro-Kremlin mouthpieces.
• Despite their best attempts to claim that ‘Russia never tried to recruit Indians to fight Ukraine’, this assertion is demonstrably false. RT English’s desperate attempt to muddy the waters with disinformation came live after Indian authorities demanded the discharge of Indian nationals who were allegedly misled into joining Russia’s army to fight in Ukraine. Achieving the return of these recruits became a priority for the Indian government, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly raising the issue to Putin during his trip to Moscow in early July 2024. The fraudulent schemes through which Indians were sent to Ukraine are consistent with those utilised to target recruits of other nationalities, such as Cubans, citizens of various African states, and others.

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