Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg (Spief) declared that It does not exclude an attempt at the military occupation of the Ukrainian city as part of the formation of a buffer zone along the border. In addition, he called the Russians and Ukrainians to one nation and described the territory of Ukraine as “ours”. At the same time, however, he said that Russia has never questioned the right of Ukraine to sovereignty, TASR writes, according to AFP, TASS and Reuters reports.
“We do not have the goal of occupying amounts, but basically I do not exclude it,” declared Putin. The city is located approximately 30 kilometers from the border with Russia and since the beginning of the war in February 2022 is regularly the aim of attacks.
Putin also apparently denied the right of Ukraine to his own statehood in his speech. “I consider Russians and Ukrainians to be one nation. In this sense, the whole of Ukraine is ours. We have one proverb – where the Russian soldier enters, that’s ours,” declared the leader of the Russian Federation.
At the same time, the Russian President said that Moscow never questioned the right of Ukraine to sovereigntybut noted that when Ukraine declared independence in 1991, it was a “neutral state”.
The latest statements are raising doubts about the future of peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev. Russia has been rejecting Ukrainian calls for an unconditional ceasefire for several months.
Ukraine started counterattacks in the Russian Kursk region last August. At that time, the Kiev troops occupied dozens of border municipalities, which held for several months before their Russian forces pushed again. Putin, following the offensive, ordered units along the border to create a “buffer zone”.
