Kursk one week in: So far, the memes are better than the analyses.

Suddenly everybody is an expert on Kursk. The gung-ho celebrations are understandable but maybe premature? We hope not, but these Two Grumpy Old Men are keeping our gunpowder dry.

(meme in Ukrainian language and colours: ‘Welcome to Kursk region’)

So far, there are no journalists on the ground in Kursk, and it is still unclear what the Ukrainian aims and end goals are with the incursion into Russia. On Sunday night President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a harsh but at the same time vague statement: “Russia brought war to others - now it's coming home. Ukraine has always wanted only peace, and we will certainly ensure peace. Russia must be forced to make peace if” Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to fight so badly. Later there was a brief comment from the Ukrainian foreign ministry that “Ukrainian Armed Forces will stay in Kursk until Russia agrees to a peace deal based on President Zelenskiy’s peace formula.”

One thing we do know is that Western governments did not know a thing about the Ukrainian attack last Tuesday.

By now, Ukraine has occupied at least 74 towns and villages and 1,000 square kilometers of Russian soil, and up to 200.000 Russians have fled the area (numbers confirmed from both sides). So far, Western governments are supporting Ukraine’s incursion.

These Two Grumpy Old Men are, of course, happy about anything that weakens Putin, but we await more actual information about what is going on in and around Kursk - and not least, why? The old saying about “not selling the skin before the bear has been caught” seems apt.

Most of the memes below have been shared tens of thousands of times on countless platforms, and often, the origin/original source of the meme has been long lost. Naturally, Ukrainians—and we who support them in this struggle—have saved up a lot of anger and desire for revenge, and the memes below demonstrate that, a valve for anger and frustration. After two and a half years of bombs and massacres, the hatred towards the Russians is palpable.

Most of the memes are funny and brutal - a few are, to be frank, a bit crass. (Or maybe these Two Grumpy Old Men are turning into prude wallflowers?) Punditry and analysis, on the other hand, are done best based on solid information, so we, for our part, will wait with a more comprehensive analysis till we feel that we actually understand what is going on in Kursk. Perhaps, in 2024, that is not cool, but so be it. (Reading over my shoulder, my son sighs, “Hi Dad, 1994 called, they want their word cool back”).

Enjoy.

(to be continued…)