On December 31, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov said that the Russian army is gradually pushing Ukrainian forces away from the border, expanding the buffer zone in the Sumy and Kharkov provinces of Ukraine.
Mr. Gerasimov made this statement during an inspection of the Sever military complex, emphasizing that Russia's advance speed is at a record level in the past 12 months. "Forces belonging to the unified military complex are confidently advancing deep into the enemy's defense system," Mr. Gerasimov said.
According to the Russian Chief of General Staff, in December, the Russian army liberated more than 700km2 of territory and controlled 32 residential areas, after deploying a campaign to establish a security belt in the Sumy and Kharkov provinces bordering Ukraine.
Mr. Gerasimov said that the continued expansion of the buffer zone by Russian forces is implemented under the direction of President Vladimir Putin.
During the inspection, Mr. Gerasimov also awarded medals and state awards to many soldiers and sent New Year greetings to soldiers, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense.
In November, the Russian Chief of the General Staff announced that another major stronghold of Ukraine and an important logistics hub in Kharkov province - Kupyansk city - was completely under the control of the Russian army.
According to Mr. Gerasimov, the campaign to neutralize Ukrainian units currently tactically besieged in the east of the city is expected to end no later than the end of February. This is the remaining group of Ukrainian soldiers in Kupyansk.
For its part, Kiev denied information about being besieged and said that Moscow's statements were exaggerated.
