Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that the purpose of Russia’s offensive in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv was to create a “buffer zone” in response to Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s Belgorod Oblast.
“Now, about what is happening in the Kharkiv direction. They [the Ukrainian authorities] are also to blame for that because they shelled and continue shelling, unfortunately, residential areas of borderline territories, including Belgorod,” Putin said, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
“I have said publicly that if this continues, we’ll have to create a security buffer zone. This is what we are doing,” he added. Belgorod has been targeted by Ukrainian forces throughout the war, and those attacks have ramped up in recent months.
Also on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned the Kharkiv offensive could just be the “first wave” of a wider Russian assault. Ukrainian officials have previously said that Ukraine’s lines risk collapsing wherever Russia focuses its offensive.
Ukraine has been asking the US to allow the use of US-provided weapons on Russian territory. The US has been vague on the issue, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying the US doesn’t “encourage or enable” Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory but adding that it’s “ultimately Ukraine has to make decisions for itself about how it’s going to conduct this war,” and the State Department has refused to elaborate on his comments.
Any Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod using US-provided weapons would risk a major escalation. After UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Ukraine could use British weapons on Russian territory, Moscow summoned the British ambassador and warned that Russia could target UK military sites in response.
Why according to TASS? The video with this Putin’s press conference is available on YouTube. They also asked him whether Russia is planning to capture Kharkov. Putin said: “We have no such plans for today”. Also he said: “Everything is going according to our plans”.
The US is innocent, Ukraine does what it chooses, same argument for Israel, Taiwan, Japan and break-away southern Korea.
My Mother in Law used to say “your eyes are bigger then your stomach” That is very true of Zelensky and Ukraine.
Oh, yeah DO YOU SUPPORT ISRAELS GENOCIDE OF THE INNOCENT, THE WOMEN & CHILDREN WHO HAVE ZERO CONTROL OVER Hamas OR EVEN THEIR OWN LIVES IN THE OPEN AIR PRISON OF GAZA TO WHICH THE ISRAELIS HAVE SENTENCED THEM JUST FOR BEING THERE & THEIR EXISTENCE IN A PLACE THAT ISRAEL WANTS THEM GONE, REPLACED BY ISRAELI “Settlers & the hydrocarbon energy that is there to be controlled & taken by Israel???
Zelenski’s term as ”President” expired on 20 may, he’s……..illegitimate.
Elections needed to be held in Ukraine back in March – however Zelenski ”the clown” claims that these will be postponed due to the war that he has created even though he campaigned on a Peace platform!
Right now it makes perfect sense that given the opportunity – Ukrainians will be more than happy to throw Zelenski ”the clown” under the bus in much the same way he did to them and replace him with someone who will not ruin their country and is not associated with Blackrock and that opens another can of nasty worms.