MOSCOW

THE REPORTED USE of British Challenger tanks and other Western equipment on Russian soil has provided Russian President Vladimir Putin the opportunity to tell his people that he was right all along, NATO involvement in Ukraine was all about attacking Russia.

“We in the West, we see Ukrainian troops driving towards Kursk. The Russians, they just see NATO,” says Alois Guderian, a post-doctoral lecturer in armored warfare at the Panzerschule Institute in Paraguay. “Ever since 2008, Putin has been banging on about NATO’s desire to push further and further east, and now – as far as he is concerned – there it is, a full-fledged NATO-backed invasion of Mother Russia.”

Ukraine’s bold move has drawn praise from Western leaders and excitement in the Western media. Its troops have pushed deep into the Kursk Oblast, forcing Russian civilians to flee. Russia has been unusually slow in meeting the threat.

“Putin might not be absolutely upset by developments,” explains Guderian. “Russia can always trade land for time. “Taking territory in Russia can be as costly as losing it, in the long term. Politically though, a Ukrainian invasion can be seen as an advantage as much as it can be seen as a problem. The Russians are still making progress – albeit creeping – in the Donbass. And in the end, that is the front that matters right now.”