Russian troops threaten: Zelensky warns of offensive on Sumy!

Russian troops threaten: Zelensky warns of offensive on Sumy!

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has released alarming information about the Russian military presence on the border with the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine. A report from wort.lu According to reports, there are currently around 50,000 Russian soldiers near this region. Zelensky emphasized that the Ukrainian army is actively trying to avert a possible attack and is even conducting operations in the neighboring Kursk region of Russia.

Zelensky also suggested that a potential Russian advance on Sumy could be aimed at establishing a buffer zone on the Ukrainian side. Despite the massive troop build-up to the border, it is noted that other Russian troops, such as those near Pokrovsk in Donbass, lack personnel, which could complicate the strategic situation.

Strategic assessments and regional context

The current situation is compounded by the fact that Russia has taken aggressive steps since annexing Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. The annexations of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia followed in autumn 2022, but these are only partially controlled by Moscow. Deutschlandfunk reports that the Kremlin has not officially laid claim to Sumy, which brings the current tensions even more into focus.

At a meeting in the Kremlin, President Putin jokingly expressed his views on the occupation of Sumy. This highlights the erratic behavior of the Russian leadership regarding Ukraine, while military activity on the borders continues to increase.

Zelensky's press conference in which he shared this explosive information took place on Tuesday. However, Ukrainian media only published the content today, while the president was on his way to Berlin.

The upcoming talks in Istanbul, which Moscow is said to be ready for, could be crucial in preventing an escalation. The international community is watching the developments with great concern.