Putin is uneasy about Ukraine's incursion into Russian territory

Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly deeply uneasy about Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk and Lipetsk regions.

The ongoing Ukrainian attacks, now in their fifth day, have raised questions about the Russian army's regional defense capabilities and have dealt a major blow to Kremlin propaganda.

'THE BOSS IS IN A BAD MOOD'

According to a report by T24 citing Politika.Kozlov, an official responsible for events at the Kremlin stated that Putin's mood is quite poor. The official said, "The boss (Putin) is in a bad mood. He hasn't been seen like this since the Russian army was forced to withdraw from Kherson in 2022." The identities of the sources in the report were kept confidential.

Sources who have worked with Putin for years stated that his posture and appearance at events on Wednesday and Thursday were "dissatisfied and uneasy."

Since the attack launched by Ukraine on Tuesday, Ukrainian forces have seized a key transit point for the only active natural gas pipeline between Russia and Europe. They attacked a military airfield in Lipetsk and struck a Russian military convoy. Russia has been forced to evacuate thousands of civilians due to the attacks.

Putin, who usually avoids commenting on issues that might lower support for him, was forced to make a public statement regarding this situation in which Russia was caught unprepared. The Ukrainian attacks were discussed at high-level meetings on Wednesday.

RUSSIAN ARMY CAUGHT OFF GUARD 

Although Putin acknowledged that Ukraine had entered Russian territory, he did not admit that the Russian army failed to protect the border and described the incursion as a "major provocation."

However, a source close to the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the incident was a "failure" and that Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov could be in a difficult position. A source close to the Kremlin speaking to Bloomberg stated that Gerasimov ignored intelligence reports that Ukrainian soldiers were gathering near Kursk.

Some publications supporting the Ukrainian incursion state that the Russian army was "caught off guard."

News Source: 12punto