Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he believes the entire territory of Ukraine belongs to Russia. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, he stated that advancing Russian troops could capture the Ukrainian city of Sumy to create a buffer zone near the border.
Ukraine’s foreign minister condemned Putin’s remarks, calling them a clear sign of Russia’s disrespect for US peace efforts. He said Moscow is focused on taking more land and causing more deaths, reports USA Today.
Currently, Russia controls around 20% of Ukraine, including Crimea, most of the Luhansk region, and large parts of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. It also holds some areas in Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk.
When asked about the latest Russian military progress, Putin repeated his long-held belief that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. “In that sense, the whole of Ukraine is ours,” he said.
Ukraine and Western countries reject Russia’s claims over Ukrainian regions, including Crimea, as illegal. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly denied any idea of shared identity between the two nations and rejected Putin’s peace proposals, saying they amount to surrender.
Although Putin claimed he was not questioning Ukraine’s independence or its desire for sovereignty, he noted that Ukraine had declared neutrality when it became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. He insisted that peace is only possible if Ukraine accepts the current situation, meaning Russian control over a large part of its territory.
Putin added, “We have a saying: Where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, responded on social media, calling Putin’s words cynical and showing disregard for peace efforts. He said that Russia’s goal is to seize more land and continue killing Ukrainians, and that Russian soldiers only bring “death, destruction, and devastation.”
In his nightly address, President Zelenskiy said Russia clearly refuses a ceasefire and wants to keep the war going. He mentioned that Ukraine’s military was discussing Russia’s actions in the Sumy region, where Russia has various aggressive plans. Zelenskiy said Ukraine is fighting back to defend the region.
Putin claimed that Russian forces are trying to build a buffer zone in Sumy to protect Russian territory.