Russian President Vladimir Putin said this Friday, June 20, “does not exclude” Russia’s taking of the Ukrainian city of Soumy. Ukraine accused him of being “contempt” by the peace process initiated by Washington.
The Russian forces, which have carried out a great large -scale offensive in Ukraine since February 2022, have progressed in the front for more than a year and have recently advanced in the Ukrainian region of Soumy, Russian border.
“We do not intend to take Soumy, but in principle, I do not exclude it,” said the Russian president, during a discussion in the Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, previously nicknamed the “Davos Russos.”
“They represent a permanent threat to us, constantly bombing border areas,” added Vladimir Putin, speaking of Ukrainian forces.
“A total error for American peace efforts”
The city of Soumy, which is about 30 kilometers from the Russian border, has been widely attacked since the beginning of the Moscow offensive that occupies approximately one fifth of Ukraine and claims four regions, in addition to Crimea, annexes in 2014.
“The cynical statements of Vladimir Putin give a total contempt for US peace efforts (…) The only way to force Russia to peace is to deprive him of his feeling of impunity,” reacted the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andriy Sybiga, in a message posted in X.
In a series of comments with the warm tone, Vladimir Putin seemed to deny the existence of the Ukrainian state, as he has already done in the past.
“I consider the Russians and the Ukrainians as a single people. In this sense, all Ukraine is ours,” said the Russian president, before adding: “There is a proverb that says: where a Russian soldier establishes a point of support, it belongs to us.”
Prevent Ukraine from being a new offensive
For several weeks, Moscow has been claiming villages in the Soumy region. The Kremlin claims to constitute a “buffer zone” to prevent Ukrainian forces leading new offensives in Russia, such as the one launched last year in the Russian region of Koursk, border with that of Soumy.
In August 2024, kyiv’s army launched a surprise assault, partially occupying the Koursk region for eight months, before being expelled in spring by the Russian troops, supported by a contingent of several thousand North Korea soldiers.
The Russian army, faced with less numerous Ukrainian troops, regularly claims the conquest of new small locations that ensures “liberation.”
Negotiations in the impasse
The conversations between the two countries, committed under the pressure of Donald Trump, are blocked after two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul, in May and June. These meetings did not lead to a high fire that probably ended the conflict that made at least tens of thousands of dead and wounded in just over three years.
Russia has rejected the “unconditional” truce sought by Ukraine, which has described the Russian requirements such as “ultimatums” as “ultimatums.”
Vladimir Putin refuses to participate in people in peace conversations and explained on Thursday that he would not meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky only during the “final phase” of negotiations. He insisted that Ukraine renounces the territories whose annexation Russia states, but kyiv rejects any occupation of its territory by its neighbor.
“We are not trying to obtain the capitulation of Ukraine. We insist on the recognition of the realities that arose on the ground,” he said, ensuring that Moscow was advancing “on all fronts” and that their troops had penetrated up to 12 kilometers within Ukraine in the Soumy region.
Source: BFM TV
