The Kremlin is using state media and propaganda to convince the Russian public that Ukrainian troops on its soil are the "new normal" as it comes to terms with the idea it may not be able to push Kyiv's forces out in the immediate future, Meduza reported on Aug. 21.
Citing sources close to the government, the outlet says three narrative lines have been drawn up and being pushed out – an acknowledgment that Ukraine did indeed cross the border into Kursk Oblast, that they will inevitably be defeated, but that this will take time and the Russian public needs to be patient.
Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Kyiv had advanced between 28-35 kilometers (18-21 miles) into Russia's Kursk Oblast as the unprecedented incursion enters its third week.
According to Syrskyi, Ukraine has captured 1,263 square kilometers (488 square miles) of Russian territory and 93 settlements to date.
Two sources close to the Russian presidential administration said that inside the Kremlin, the initial shock at the incursion has now passed, and people have since "got used to it."
The Kremlin expects a "quite optimistic" scenario of several months of fighting to regain the territory, and efforts now are aimed at placating the Russian population and getting them used to this timeline.
"During a shock, and this was certainly a shock, there are always jumps (in public alarm), then people get used to it, and everything settles down," one of the sources said.
"What happened during Prigozhin's mutiny, mobilization, and at the beginning of the war? But everything settled down."
Russia's normally slick propaganda machine has struggled to cope with the Kursk incursion.
When Ukrainian forces crossed the Russian border on Aug. 6, Russia's immediate response was to downplay the incursion, and state media shows were filled with mixed and sometimes contradictory messaging.
Margarita Simonyan, one of Russia's foremost propagandists, largely disappeared from view.
"She's vanished from view," Julia Davis, creator of the Russian Media Monitor, told the Kyiv Independent for a previous article, adding: "She's barely posting on social media and she's not appearing on state TV."
"That's probably because they haven't come up with a good set of talking points that would make any sense, because this situation has really exposed the reality of what is happening in the war they started."
Chris York
