Russian President Vladimir Putin has asserted that, in his view, all of Ukraine belongs to Russia, while warning that advancing Russian forces could capture the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy as part of efforts to establish a buffer zone along the border.
Ukraine’s foreign minister condemned Putin’s remarks as evidence of Russia’s “disdain” for US-led peace efforts and accused Moscow of seeking further territorial expansion and bloodshed.
Currently, Russia controls approximately 20 per cent of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea, most of the Luhansk region, large parts of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, as well as smaller areas in Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk.
Speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Mr Putin reiterated his belief that Russians and Ukrainians are one people, declaring: “In that sense, the whole of Ukraine is ours.” Kyiv and its Western allies have consistently rejected such claims, calling Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian regions illegal, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly dismissed the notion of any shared national identity.
Although Mr Putin claimed he was not disputing Ukraine’s sovereignty or independence, he argued that Ukraine’s 1991 independence declaration after the Soviet Union’s collapse included a commitment to neutrality — something Moscow says Kyiv has since abandoned.
Putin stressed that any chance of peace would require Ukraine to accept the current realities on the ground, meaning Russia’s occupation of roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.
“We have a saying: where a Russian soldier steps, that is ours,” he said.
Ukraine denounces Russia’s intentions
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha responded sharply to Putin’s comments, writing on X:
“Putin’s cynical statements demonstrate complete disdain for US peace efforts. While the United States and the rest of the world call for an immediate end to the killing, Russia’s top war criminal discusses plans to seize more Ukrainian territory and kill more Ukrainians.”
Sybiha accused Russian forces of bringing “death, destruction, and devastation” wherever they advance.
In his nightly address, President Zelenskyy accused Russia of openly rejecting any ceasefire proposals, saying:
“Russia wants to continue the war.”
He confirmed that military leaders had discussed developments in the Sumy region, describing Russia’s plans as “completely mad as always.”
Putin said Russian troops were creating a buffer zone in Sumy to protect Russian territory but did not rule out the possibility of capturing the city itself.
“We don’t have the task of taking it, but in principle I don’t rule it out,” he said.
