Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kursk

After a gradual decline in media interest in Ukraine following the Hamas attack on Israel last year, Ukraine is back on the front pages of the world’s newspapers. Kursk, Sudzha, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine have become the heroes of not only media texts, but also of numerous global cartoons and memes. The main narratives of these cartoons and memes are: the Ukrainian incursion is punishment for Russia’s two-year aggression in Ukraine and a blow to Russia’s imperial ambitions. which the Ukrainian military took by surprise. This incursion came as a complete surprise to Russia and proved that it is possible and necessary to fight Russia on its territory.

The memes and cartoons about Kursk also reflect the changing position of Ukraine’s Western allies, who initially did not allow Western weapons to be used against Russia, and after the incursion claimed that Ukraine could plan its military operations independently.

As we can see, the two dimensions of the Russian-Ukrainian war – the real and the discursive – have once again intertwined, giving us food for reflection and investigation.