Putin Expands the Buffer Zone in Sumy, Considers Taking It

While we are all watching Iran, Putin continues his gradual advance into Ukraine. Putin has told Ukraine he risks renewed armed conflict in the future if it does not recognize the results of referenda ballots Moscow held in 2022 in four Ukrainian regions that Russia claims to have annexed. Crimea is off the table for everyone, including President Trump. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine in an interview with Sky News Arabia.

The Russian president said Kyiv should recognize the referenda. He claims that Moscow said cemented its claim in the oblasts of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk under Joe Biden. Putin annexed Crimea in 2014 under Barack Obama.

Putin made the remarks on the future of the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine before the annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

He said in the Friday speech he does not “rule out” his forces taking control of Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy amid the military initiative of creating a buffer zone along the border.

“We have no objective to take Sumy, but in principle I do not rule it out… They pose a constant threat to us, constantly shelling the border areas,” Putin told the audience.

Starting in late May, Russian forces took control of the border villages of Novenke, Zhuravka, Veselivka, and Basivka, Hryhorov just inside Sumy Oblast as part of work on the buffer zone.

As for the city of Sumy, it has suffered from intermittent aerial attacks and shelling since the war’s start.

As each piece of Ukraine’s land falls away, Zelensky insists on no consequences and that the US station itself permanently in Ukraine.

Sumy Oblast

Currently Russian troops are up to 12km inside Sumy Oblast, putting them very close to the administrative capital of the oblast by the same name. German publication DW summarizes in part:

The Russian leader emphasized that while Russia “never doubted” Ukraine’s sovereignty after its 1991 independence, it had declared itself a neutral state — a stance he accused Ukraine of having abandoned.

Reiterating a longstanding narrative, he said Russians and Ukrainians were essentially the same nation — a position Kyiv and its Western allies categorically reject.

“I have said many times that I consider the Russian and Ukrainian peoples to be one people. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours,” Putin said.

RUSSIA EXPANDS BUFFER ZONE IN SUMY

Ukrainian President Zelensky claims Putin always wanted all of Ukraine.

PowerInbox