“Where the Russian soldier sets foot is ours”: Putin eyes Sumy as next target

As global attention remains fixed on the Middle East—where tensions between Iran and Israel continue to escalate—many countries are evacuating their citizens from both nations amid ongoing missile and drone attacks. Meanwhile, another major conflict further north continues to unfold largely outside the spotlight: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Although media coverage of the war in Ukraine has lessened, the fighting persists. On the night of June 21, explosions were reported in Odesa. Early the next morning, Russian missiles and drones struck the city of Kremenchuk in the Poltava region. That same evening, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed to have shot down five Ukrainian drones over the Kursk and Voronezh regions, as well as Mordovia.

In short, the war is far from over—and Russian President Vladimir Putin has not ruled out the capture of the Ukrainian city of Sumy. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 20, Putin was asked about establishing a “security zone” in the Sumy region. While he stated that seizing the city was not an official objective of the Russian army, he also left the door open.

“We do not have a task to take Sumy, but in principle, I do not rule it out,” Putin said.

He went on to justify Russia’s military presence in the region by claiming that Ukrainian forces had previously entered the Russian border area of Kursk, prompting the need to “create a security zone.” Asked about the expected depth of this buffer zone, Putin responded:

“In the Sumy region, the depth is somewhere around 10–12 kilometers—somewhere around 8, 10, 12 kilometers. Then there is the regional center, the city of Sumy.”

Defending Russia’s territorial advances, Putin added: “Wherever a Russian soldier sets foot, that land is ours.”

He also reiterated his long-held position that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people.”

“You talk about the territories in Ukraine that we consider ours. I have repeatedly said that I consider the Russian and Ukrainian peoples to be one people. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours,” he stated.

Putin’s remarks quickly drew condemnation from Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha posted a response in English on the social media platform X, calling Putin’s words both outrageous and dismissive of international peace efforts—particularly those led by the United States.

“While the US and other countries around the world are calling for an immediate end to the killing, Russia’s chief war criminal is discussing plans to seize new territories in Ukraine and kill more Ukrainians. But among all of Putin’s insane statements, his words about where the Russian soldier is standing stand out. In fact, wherever the Russian soldier steps, he brings only death, destruction, and devastation,” Sybiha wrote.

Buffer zone

As mentioned above, a buffer zone is an area established between warring parties that does not belong to either side or is managed under special conditions to enhance security and reduce conflict.

On May 22, during a meeting with government officials, President Vladimir Putin announced the decision to create a security buffer zone along the border with Ukraine to protect Russian territory from threats posed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

He first mentioned these plans in March 2024.

In late May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia was massing troops in the Sumy region to establish a buffer zone approximately 10 kilometers deep. According to Zelensky, more than 50,000 Russian troops were preparing for this offensive.

In early June, military analysts observed that the Russian army was intensifying its operations in the Sumy region—a campaign that began in early spring. Experts reported that by early June, Russian forces were positioned 20–25 kilometers from the outskirts of Sumy.

Russian troops first entered the border areas of the Sumy region at the end of winter.

While pushing Ukrainian forces out of the Kursk region, Russian troops crossed the border near the village of Novenkoe and advanced toward the Sumy–Sudzha highway, which serves as the main logistical route for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in this sector of the front.

In early June, NATO announced that it was closely monitoring the Russian Federation’s troop buildup near the Sumy border and the movement of units from the Kursk region into border villages in the Sumy region.

Meanwhile, experts from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed that although the Russian military may aim to capture Sumy, they are unlikely to succeed anytime soon.

“ISW continues to believe that Russian forces are unlikely to capture the city of Sumy in the near to medium term, as Russian forces have not captured any Ukrainian city with a population of over 100,000 since July 2022,” ISW stated in a June report.

In summary, these developments continue to unfold in and around Ukraine. Stay with QALAMPIR.UZ for the latest updates.