The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expects Russia to prepare a major attack on the Sumy region, in northern Ukraine. According to Zelensky, Russia has gathered 50,000 soldiers near the border.
Zelensky believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to create a so-called buffer zone near the border with an offensive. Last week, it was already announced that Putin had made a decision about such a buffer zone.
Sumy is located in northeastern Ukraine. On the Russian side of the border is the Kursk region, where Ukraine invaded in August 2024 and temporarily occupied Russian territory.
“Their strongest forces are currently on the front near Kursk,” Zelensky said on Tuesday at a press conference. According to the Ukrainian president, the Russian army is preparing attacks on the Sumy region and wants to drive the last Ukrainian troops out of Kursk; Ukraine still controls some small strips of territory there.
In recent weeks, Russia has already captured four villages and hamlets in the Sumy region. But Zelensky is not very concerned about the offensive: he says that the Ukrainian army has taken several measures to defend itself against a large-scale offensive.
At the same time, the question remains whether the two countries can reach a ceasefire through negotiations. Zelensky said that he would like to sit down with Putin, with or without a mediating role from US President Donald Trump.
But for now, Ukraine would wait for an official proposal from Moscow. It concerns a so-called memorandum on the next steps in a consultation on a ceasefire. According to Zelensky, Russia was not yet ready for the next steps towards a ceasefire during diplomatic consultations in Istanbul a week and a half ago.
The countries did agree on the exchange of a thousand prisoners of war from both sides. That exchange took place a week ago, at three different times.