Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a report of Russian chief of general staff general Valery Gerasimov (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the proposed security zone would cover a stretch of 660 km (410 miles), with Russian forces controlling 70 per cent of the area.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said Moscow is building a buffer “security zone” inside Ukraine which won’t be a part of any future peace negotiations, describing the move as necessary to protect Russia’s border regions. This task is being carried out successfully,” he said in televised comments. “Given the aggressive nature of the Kyiv regime, in order to ensure the safety of our citizens, we will have to create a security zone, or buffer zone,” Peskov had told a Russian journalist, according to Anadolu Agency. Peskov said the initiative was progressing steadily and pointed to advances made by Russian troops. “It is being created, and it is being created systematically,” he said in remarks carried by Russian media outlets, including state news agency Tass, arguing that “significant results” had been achieved in terms of Russian troop advances.
“The Russian armed forces were tasked not only with expelling the enemy from our land but also with establishing a security zone in the adjacent territory.