Ukraine war live updates: Ukraine operation in Kursk was planned with Nato and West, Russia

Francis Sarr
BBC Monitoring

From the start of this incursion, Russian state media has been
following the Kremlin’s lead to try and put a brave face on, telling people
that Ukrainian forces are being pushed back and authorities are working
efficiently to rescue and evacuate civilians.

All of the daily updates which are coming from the Russian
defence ministry, which are then amplified by state TV which is where most
Russians still get their news.

These updates suggest that Russia is on top of developments.

They are using phrases such as “the operation to destroy enemy
forces continues” or “attempts by the enemy to break through have been
repelled”.

That said, in these daily updates there are some details that do
indicate an admission that Ukrainian forces are advancing.

Yesterday for example the defence ministry listed some names of
the villages where fighting was ongoing, and if you compare them to the
previous day, you could tell that Ukrainian forces had advanced by a couple of
kilometres in the previous 24 hours or so.

The fact that President Putin has not publicly spoken on this
issue since Monday I think says a lot, he tends to distance himself from bad
news.