The Kremlin’s enemy number 1 says, the Kursk attack in Ukraine is an embarrassment for Putin

KYIV – Bill Browder, a critic who describes himself as “the Kremlin’s enemy No. 1,” said the attack was sudden Ukraine to the Kursk region, Russia, he embarrassed the President Vladimir Putin.

Browder, a British-American financier, expressed his criticism in an interview with Times Radio. He spoke on the third day of a Ukrainian military offensive that surprised Russia and resulted in Kyiv forces taking control of at least 166 square miles (430 square kilometers) of Russian territory.

In about 24 hours, Ukrainian forces captured two main defense lines in the Kursk region that took more than two and a half years and more than $170 million to build, according to a Russian investigative website; Executive.

Russia has declared a federal emergency in Kursk, and is now scrambling to put additional resources into the region, taking human resources away from the war it started in Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry released a video on Friday of Russian military equipment being moved to the Sudzhansky region of Kursk, which is now reportedly partially occupied by Ukraine.

“I think this is an amazing development and something that has a huge impact both symbolically and militarily. Symbolically, it makes Putin look weak,” said Browder, CEO and co-founder of Hermitage Capital Management, an investment adviser to the Hermitage Fund, which was once the largest foreign portfolio investor in the Russia.

Browder noted that Putin launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a “special military operation” and accusing those who deviated from the Kremlin’s narrative of the conflict.

“The point of calling it is to make it look like something very far away… affecting the Russian people,” he said.

“And suddenly, part of Russia has been attached to Ukraine – and maybe I’m getting ahead of myself a little bit – but the symbolism [kemajuan Ukraina di Kursk] very extreme. Because how does Putin describe this? ”