ISW: Putin Is Lying, Trying To Save Face
- 26.10.2024, 10:44
The head of the Kremlin is nervous about the losses in the Kursk region.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is trying to create the illusion of control over the events in the Kursk region. To do this, he exaggerates the successes of Russian troops in this region, and sometimes even openly lies.
In particular, in an interview with Russian propagandists on October 25, Putin again stated that 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region were allegedly surrounded by Russians. This was noted by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Talking to propagandists of the state Russian TV channel “Russia 1”, the dictator again repeated the thesis voiced on October 24 at the closing of the BRICS summit about the alleged “encirclement” of 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region. This time, he embellished the statement with the assertion that the “encircled” Ukrainian soldiers “do not even understand that they are surrounded”. Putin also added that the connection between the “encircled” units and the main Ukrainian forces had allegedly been lost and stated that the Russian Defense Ministry had not publicly reported the successful capture of some Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region by Russian troops.
“Putin again did not admit that the Ukrainian salient in the Kursk region extends from the Ukrainian-Russian international border and that Ukrainian troops can freely pass through sections of the border controlled by Ukraine,” the ISW added.
At the same time, after Putin's first statement about the encirclement of Ukrainian soldiers and the fact that they allegedly suffered significant losses, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky made a public refutation of the Russian dictator's words.
Syrsky also announced the losses that Putin's army had suffered in the Kursk region since the beginning of the Ukrainian operation. During this time, Russia has lost 17,819 of its servicemen, 711 of whom were captured by the Defense Forces.
“Putin’s exaggerated statistics on Ukrainian casualties are likely part of his attempt to explain Russia’s failure to decisively repel the Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk region after almost three months in the context of the likely imminent deployment of North Korean troops to fight in the area,” the ISW concluded.