Kremlin aims to downplay Ukraine's incursion

The Kremlin's reaction to Ukrainian troops taking control of part of Russia's Kursk region has been subdued, with a focus on normal operations rather than issuing threats, News.Az reports citing Kyiv Post.

President Vladimir Putin has opted for his go-to style of downplaying uncomfortable news, referring to the largest incursion in Russia since World War II as "the situation that has developed."

"It's the usual way he acts in similar circumstances: disappearing until the situation sizzles down and then making it look like everything is normal," said political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann.

Putin has reserved his harshest comment on the surprise offensive to an unlikely audience: three mothers who lost children in the 2004 Beslan school massacre in Russia's North Caucasus.

"These enemies are continuing their work, trying to shake our country," Putin told the women on a visit this week ahead of the anniversary, likening the incursion to Islamist terrorism and vowing to "defeat these criminals."

News.Az