Putin facing public revolt as Kremlin support plummets | World | News
Vladimir Putin is facing a serious public backlash, as he is believed to be haemorrhaging support among ordinary Russians, furious at his handling of the war in Ukraine.
Most Russians have been spared the harsh realities of war, as the fighting has raged far from their homes in Ukraine.
For those living in the border regions with Ukraine, that all changed on August 6 when Kyiv’s army launched its daring invasion and brought the full impact of war home to thousands of Russians.
As many as ten thousand troops poured over the border, quickly moving inland and seizing over 400 square miles of Russian territory, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Kremlin officials and state TV have desperately tried to play down the seriousness of the situation and the scale of the humiliation.
This attempt to keep people in the dark about the mortal danger they faced has infuriated residents living in the Kursk region. As has the inept performance of their border guards.
In a post on the Vkontakte website, Russia‘s equivalent to Facebook, Nelli Tikhonov wrote: “I don’t even know who I hate more now: the Ukrainian army that captured our land or our government that allowed that to happen.”
Lyubov Antipova’s parents live in a small village in the Kursk region. When Russian television dismissed the incursion as a one-off “attempt at infiltration”, they decided to stay.
Antipova, who has not heard from them for almost two weeks, told The Guardian: “All those years my parents didn’t think they would be affected.
“We were sure the Russian army would protect us. I’m amazed how quickly the Ukrainian forces advanced.”
The Russian government has evacuated around 200,000 people from the affected areas, offering some 10,000 roubles (£86) in financial relief.
Many residents also made their way to the city of Kursk, which has a population of around one million.
Stas Volobuyev told The Guardian that refugees had nothing and were forced to flee in just shorts and flip flops.
He lamented the government’s failure to help the refugees and to stop the Ukrainian incursion.
Ukraine‘s attack has seriously dented public confidence in Putin and his handling of the war, new surveys have revealed.
According to a survey by the Public Opinion Foundation, as of August 11, 25 percent of Russians said that the actions of the authorities caused them “indignation.”
A similar level of dissatisfaction, 26 percent, was last recorded in July 2023, when the Wagner PMC rebelled, and Yevgeny Prigozhin’s troops almost reached Moscow.
