Putin arrived in the Kursk region to prepare conditions and justifications for the total, analysts at the Institute for studying the war on his new belief report.
Vladimir Putin, at the meeting, according to the results of his trip to the Kursk region, announced that the Russian army created a “buffer security zone” along the Russian and Ukraine border. “Enemy fire points are actively restrained … The work is happening,” Putin said, not providing other details.
Putin visited the Kursk region on May 20, this trip was only known the next day.
Old song
Putin spoke about prospects for creating a “buffer” or “sanitary” zone more than once, including before the APU invasion of the Kursk region in August 2024.
Its creation is explained by the need to protect Russian border areas from shelling- “to create some kind of sanitary zone in Ukraine’s territory at the distance from which it is impossible to get our territory,” Putin explained in 2023.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the Kremlin head of the “buffer zones” just proved that Russia was an obstacle to peaceful efforts.
“These words clearly proved that Putin, it was Russia, was an obstacle to today’s peaceful effort and to them it was necessary to increase pressure in all forms to force Russia and Putin into the world and the complete long -term stop of fire.
As for “buffer zones”, there may be a “buffer zone” in Russia, which is why Ukraine has been conducting an operation there since last year, “said Georgy Tikhiy, a foreign ministry representative.
Preparation of acquisition
On May 20, Putin met with the leadership of the municipalities of the Kursk region. At this meeting, the head of the Glushkovsky district of Kuvel Zolotarev was asked by Putin to create a “buffer zone” in the region of the whole. Putin asked what depth of this buffer zone should be. In response, Zolotarev said: “Sumy should be our Russian. We can’t live as in the peninsula. It should be more than us. At least altogether. I think. Stranger to him.”
ISW analysts remember that Sumy is located about 25 kilometers from the international border. The Russian “buffer zone”, which will provide for the acquisition of Sumy, will avoid Ukrainian troops to apply artillery and tactical drones throughout Russia, explain to the Institute for the Study of War. They also remember the messages of Western and Ukrainian resources that in Ukrainian-Russian negotiations in Istanbul on May 16, the Russian Federation’s delegation threatened to obtain the entire region to create a “security zone”. ISW continues to evaluate that Russia really has territorial goals outside the regions of Ukraine, which are parts of which are illegally occupied. Putin may intend to use the further advancement of the Russians across the region to request from Ukraine to move part of Sumshchina during future peace talks, experts say.
They suggest that Kremlin arranges Putin’s visit to the Kursk region to show it as a so -called “effective and involved in the current situation of the war leader” – including the form of this reaction to requests for further advancement of the Russian Federation in the Sumy region and to obtain more territories within Ukraine.
ISW suggests that in close and medium terms, Russian troops are not likely to be able to capture the whole, given the inability to quickly obtain smaller repairs to Ukraine over the past three years. According to Ukrainian military observer Konstantin Mashovts, most of Russia across the direction is now being conducted by Leningrad military district units (18th motorcycle rifle division from the 11-bodied Corps and the 72nd motorized rifle division of the 44th Army Corps). The units of the -83 separate airborne brigade (plane forces) and up to four to five motorized rifles and rifle regiments of the Russian mobilization reserve are likely to be attached to them. ISW analysts believe that these limited Russian forces in the whole direction are not enough to capture such a large city like the whole (the pre -war population of 256,000 people).
Since the acquisition of Lisichansk (Lugansk region) in July 2022, Russian troops missed a single Ukrainian city with a pre -war population of over 100,000 people, reminding the ISW. At the same time, the acquisition of Lisichansk was the result of slow and tedious efforts, which led to the end of Russia’s offensive operations east of Ukraine in the Tag -Heater of 2022 – that is, this is not a quick and effective maneuver operation. Since then, Russian troops have tried to occupy smaller adjustments, despite the use of more force, especially east and north of Ukraine. Ukraine officials also earlier announced doubts that Russian troops could conduct an effective offensive operation to get the city of Sumy, remembering the ISW.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.