2024-09-08 19:03:31
“The incursion into the Kursk region is an important moment in the war,” said Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a Russian critic of the Kremlin. According to him, it strengthened the morale of the warring Ukraine and had an impact on the morale in Russia as well – as a result of the infiltration of Ukrainians into Russia, the popularity of Russian President Vladimir Putin significantly weakened.
The former richest Russian spoke harshly about Putin, Russia and the “cowardly” West. | Video: Radio Free Europe
According to Khodorkovsky, the raid was not completely pivotal, but not insignificant either. “Russian society is divided into different segments. The important thing is that the Russians do not perceive the events in the Kursk region as an invasion of the enemy, but as a natural disaster, which must be treated as a natural disaster – with help, evacuation of people and the like,” he explained, adding that that the Russians perceive the help offered by the state as spitting in their face.
A critic of the Kremlin also claims that the situation in the Kursk region has an effect on the shift of the red lines (drawn by the Kremlin – editor’s note). “Obviously, administrations in Western countries – especially in the United States – are cowards. They need proof that red lines don’t exist. Although they haven’t shown it yet, the Kursk campaign has angered Western governments. But whether they like it or not, they see , that the red lines are not where they imagined them to be. That’s why the invasion of Kursk is important,” he described.
According to Khodorkovsky, it is “extremely important” for Putin that the number of Russians at the front is comparable to the number of soldiers the Ukrainians have in the fight at the moment. “Putin is afraid to make a decision that would turn the war into something that would suddenly require a nationwide effort. Because he has created the impression, with the help of the media, that there is no war. Once he creates the impression that there is a war, his clock will start ticking. And in view of that the so-called ‘special military operation’ has been going on for a while, we don’t know how much time he has left. I estimate that maybe a year,” he added in an interview with Radio Free Europe, which took place as part of the Globsec international conference in Prague.
Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon and once Russia’s richest man, spent a decade in prison after opposing Putin after he took office in 2000. Since his release in 2013, he has lived in exile in London, funding Russian opposition activities. He is also the founder of the opposition movement Open Russia.
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