At the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Petersburg (SPIEF) on June 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin surprised public opinion when he revealed his ability to control Ukraine's Sumy province, a hot spot located near the border with Russia.
We are not tasked with controlling Sumy. But, in principle, I do not rule out that possibility, Putin said in an interview with reporters, stressing that Russias actions stem from the continuous shelling of border areas by Ukraine.
Why are we doing this? Because they threatened us. They continuously launched shelling attacks into Russian territory. That is the result of actions that in my opinion are completely uncalculated and unreasonable, he said.
This is the first time Mr. Putin has publicly mentioned the possibility of expanding the control zone towards Sumy, located in northeastern Ukraine, bordering Russia's Kursk province - which suffered a major attack by Ukraine in August 2023.
Russia has now established a "security buffer zone" about 10-12km deep in Ukraine in Sumy province. According to Mr. Putin, this buffer zone is to prevent shelling of Russian territory, especially residential areas near the border.
Earlier, at the same meeting, the Russian president also denied the possibility of requiring Ukraine to be an unconditional requests as US President Donald Trump requested Iran.
We do not demand Ukraines surrender. We demand that they recognize the existing realities on the battlefield, Putin said, referring to the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions that were added to Russia after the 2022 referends. The Russian leader affirmed that the conflict in Ukraine is completely different from the escalating Iran- Israel war in the Middle East.
President Putin noted: "I have said many times that I consider the Russian and Ukrainian people as one nation," but affirmed that Russia does not deny Ukraine's right to exist independently as a state.
According to the Russian leader, Ukraine's counterattack in Kursk province has caused serious consequences for Kiev's forces, with about 76,000 casualties and currently the number of Ukrainian soldiers is only about 47% of the standard regulation.
According to analysts, Mr. Putin's speech shows that Russia is holding a proactive position on the ground and is ready to adjust the campaign's targets according to actual developments. Although the plan to control Sumy has not been officially announced, the not-exclusive statement from the Kremlin boss could be a warning to both Kiev and Western countries that are closely monitoring each move on the Ukrainian front.
St. Petersburg 2025 takes place from June 18 to 21, with the theme "Common values - the foundation of growth in a multipolar world".
