The Ukrainians are advancing in the Kursk region. The leadership in Moscow is discussing the social and economic consequences. Plans for the schools show that Moscow does not expect the area to be recaptured quickly.
According to official figures, around 133,000 people have left their homes so far because of the Ukrainian offensive in the Russian Kursk region. This was said by the acting governor of the region, Alexei Smirnov, in a video conference with President Vladimir Putin. Almost 20,000 people are still in the eight districts for which an evacuation has been ordered, the state news agency Tass quoted Smirnov as saying.
Putin and the Russian government have once again been dealing with the consequences of the Ukrainian advance, which began a good two weeks ago. For the first time in almost two and a half years of Russian aggressive war, Ukraine is conducting ground battles on enemy territory and, according to its own statements, controls more than 1,000 square kilometers of territory.
“I ask you to pay particular attention to the preparation for the new school year,” the Kremlin chief ordered. Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said that students from 114 schools in the border region would be taught online from September 2. Others would be taught at the place of their evacuation or in children’s holiday homes.
After the Ukrainian advance on August 6, Putin ordered his security forces to expel the Ukrainians from Russia. However, Russian resistance has been slow. At a meeting with government members and the heads of the border regions last week, Putin expressed his anger at the hesitant action of civilian authorities.
The plans for the schools from September can be seen as evidence that the Russian leadership is not expecting a quick victory against the Ukrainian troops. The Russian exile media Meduza reported, citing sources close to the Kremlin, that Moscow is less concerned with a quick reconquest. After the initial shock, it is important to get the Russian population used to what the officials called a “new normal” – the presence of attacking foreign troops, who will inevitably be driven out again.
