Since the early August Ukrainian military invasion of Russian territory there has been widespread expectation in the West that Putin would hit back hard. But the anticipated major Moscow retaliation has yet to come, other than the usual ramped up aerial campaign targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Some pundits have even speculated that Putin could order his military to decimate Ukrainian government buildings in Kiev, such as the Verkhovna Rada building where parliament meets, or the offices of top Zelensky officials. But this hasn't happened. Some pro-Kremlin hawks have gone so far as to question: why hasn't a big retaliation come to even the score for the Kursk humiliation?
After all, a foreign military invasion of Russian territory has not been seen since WWII, and over the weekend CIA director William Burns praised the "significant tactical achievement" which has served to boost morale among Ukrainians.
President Zelensky has within the last several weeks declared that Ukraine’s invasion and the fact that it's managed to hold some territory shows Kremlin threats of retaliation to be a bluff. Mainstream media punditry has jumped on the messaging, saying that despite loss of territory and the Russian population coming under 'existential threat' - Putin has yet to 'answer' it with a massive response of his own.
