Steve Rosenberg, Russia Editor
Ukrainian forces have been seizing and occupying Russian territory for almost two weeks.
Ukraine’s cross-border assault on the Kursk area marks the primary time international troops have fought inside Russia since World Warfare II.
The dramatic and surprising growth within the struggle comes almost two and a half years after President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin vowed to “pressure the enemy” to go away Russia. President Putin has not publicly used the phrase “invasion” to explain the Ukrainian offensive, seemingly in an effort to downplay what is occurring and keep away from any sense of panic.
However how did the Russian public react?
Drive two and a half hours south of Moscow into the Tula area and you may attain the leafy city of Alexin.
It is solely 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Moscow, but in some way feels so distant from the Russian capital.
There was a patriotic pop live performance within the city sq. the day we visited. Most individuals I spoke to expressed shock at what was occurring within the South.
Since February 2022, Russian state tv has been reporting on the actions of Russian troops in Ukraine.
Nobody right here anticipated that Russia’s borders can be breached.
There’s apparent fatigue. Everybody talks concerning the want for peace. However there’s at the moment no consensus on how you can obtain this objective.
Some Russians, repeating official messages from state media, known as for “peace on Russian phrases” (in different phrases, whole give up of Ukraine).
Others expressed hope that Moscow and Kiev might come to the negotiating desk and discover a option to finish the battle.
The Kremlin nonetheless calls its troops’ operations in Ukraine “particular navy operations.” It’s mentioned that Russia is at the moment conducting “anti-terrorism operations” within the Kursk area.
That is the official view. However strange Russians use one easy phrase to explain all this: “struggle.”
Producer: Lisa Shuvalova
2 hours in the past
