Vladimir Putin: Russia planning buffer zone to protect against Ukrainian attacks

Moscow, March 18

Russia won’t relent in its invasion of Ukraine, with one of its forthcoming goals being to establish a buffer zone along the border to help protect against long-range Ukrainian strikes and cross-border raids, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

The Kremlin’s forces have recently made battlefield progress as Kyiv’s troops struggle with a severe shortage of artillery shells and exhausted front-line units after more than two years of war. The front line stretches over 1,000 km of eastern and southern Ukraine.

But the advances have been slow and costly, while Ukraine has increasingly used its long-range firepower to hit oil refineries and depots deep inside Russia. Also, groups claiming to be Ukraine-based Russian opponents of the Kremlin have launched cross-border incursions.

“In view of the current tragic events, we will be forced at some point, when we consider it necessary, to create a certain sanitary zone’ on the territories controlled by the (Ukrainian government),” Putin said.

The announcement came on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Russia’s seizure of Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula, which set the stage for Russia to invade its neighbour in 2022.