Putin is having the toughest week of his life

When Valdimir Putin is angry he seriously looks angry. Right now after a week of bedlam following the arrival of thousands of Ukrainian troops across the Russian border into the Kursk region, he has glowered, obviously furious that his incompetent generals have once again failed him. But the failure lies with the Russian president and his acolytres in the Kremlin. They totally underestimated the capabilities of the Ukrainian military just as they did way back in February 2022 when Russian forces invading Ukraine were stopped in their tracks and prevented from reaching Kyiv. The planned Russian blitzkreig turned into a damp squib and piles of casualties and smashed tanks and armoured vehicles. In the latest example of poor Russian fighting abilities, the Kremlin reacted so slowly to the Kursh incursion that by the time Putin and co had come to realise it was a serious event, the Ukrainians were rampaging all over the place, seizing towns and villages and taking hundreds of Russian soldiers prisoner. Now, belatedly, they are digging trenches across the area in the hope of preventing further advances but the damage has been done. Two things have emerged so far which will provide comfort to Ukraine and its western backers and dismay for the Russian people: the Russian borders are vulnerable, improperly defended and badly managed, and the Russian president is not after all either omniscient or totally in charge of their lives and their safety. The Russian Motherland has been shown to be incompetentaly run. Shock news. Putin is not invincible.