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Russia has complained about Ukraine’s advances in the Kursk region, calling the people there “peaceful.”
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The comment is ironic, given that the attack is part of a war initiated by Russia.
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Russian territory had not been attacked much before, and this operation put it at a disadvantage.
Russia has complained that people in the Kurk region are “peaceful” and not fair targets like Ukraine advanced to Russia in a surprise offensive.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of “intimidating the peaceful population of Russia” with its offensive in the Kursk region, according to the BBC reported.
Ukrainian forces advanced on Kursk last week in a major attack that seemed to catch Russia off guard.
Ukraine has typically not sent ground forces to Russia, focusing all its efforts on repelling the Russian invasion of its own territory.
Its cross-border attacks have been carried out mainly with long-range weapons such as drones and missiles. The Kursk advance is very different, with Ukrainian armor and troops many kilometers inside Russia’s borders.
Zakharova’s plea to leave Russia’s civilians alone is ironic given the heavy impact on the population of Ukraine over years of war.
The US also showed no sympathy for Russian complaints about Ukraine’s advance.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller last week he said he was “a little rich” for Russia to complain about the attack on its lands.
Observers have debated the extent to which Russia’s population supports the invasion of Ukraine.
Given the absence of free media or independent polls, and laws restricting protests, it is difficult to measure popular sentiment.
Some Ukrainian officials have repeatedly argued that all of Russian society is responsible, not just its leaders.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the president of Ukraine, last week called it a “critical mistake” to absolve Russia of responsibility.
He said the events in Kursk “provide an opportunity for a real-life test” of whether the Russians really opposed the war.
He sarcastically said that “liberated Russians could greet anti-Putin tanks with flowers, signaling ‘freedom at last!'”
Podolyak continued: “We await such scenes, although their probability is already considered impossible.”
Read the original article at Business Insider
