MOSCOW, Dec 31 — Russia’s top general announced that its forces are advancing in northeastern Ukraine, with President Vladimir Putin ordering the expansion of what Moscow calls a buffer zone in 2026, according to Russian news agencies.
MOSCOW, Dec 31 — Russia’s top general announced that its forces are advancing in northeastern Ukraine, with President Vladimir Putin ordering the expansion of what Moscow calls a buffer zone in 2026, according to Russian news agencies.
Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said the buffer zone will be extended in Ukraine’s Sumy and Kharkiv regions near the Russian border. He also inspected the “North” troop grouping, formed in early 2024, which has been operating in northeastern Ukraine to establish a border buffer and push back Ukrainian forces.
Gerasimov’s comments come after Russia vowed retaliation for what it claimed—without evidence—was an attempt to attack Putin’s residence, an allegation Kyiv denied, saying it aimed to disrupt peace talks as the conflict approaches its fourth year. Ukraine has not immediately responded to the report.
Putin has repeatedly described the buffer zone as a measure to keep Ukrainian forces and weapons farther from Russia’s border, citing cross-border shelling and drone strikes in regions like Belgorod and Kursk. Kyiv has dismissed the buffer zone as a pretext for deeper Russian incursions into its territory.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called Moscow’s plans for Sumy and Kharkiv “mad” and vowed that Ukraine will resist as it defends the regions. — Reuters
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