putin-orders-creation-of-buffer-zone-along-ukraine-border

President Vladimir Putin has directed the Russian military to establish a “security buffer zone” along the nation’s frontier with Ukraine in a bid to shield border regions from repeated Ukrainian strikes.

 

The announcement was made during a government meeting that focused on the deteriorating security situation in Russia’s western border areas, particularly the regions of Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk. The meeting also addressed additional support for civilians affected by hostilities in these areas.

 

“It has been decided to create the necessary security buffer zone along the border. Our armed forces are actively solving this task now. The enemy’s firing positions are suppressed; the work is going on,” Putin said, as reported by Russian state agencies.

 

The notion of a cordon inside Ukrainian-held territory was first floated by Putin in March last year. He had stated that such a zone might become a necessity if Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian areas intensified.

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At that time, the Russian leader said: “Russian troops would create a ‘security zone that would be quite difficult for the adversary to overcome with its weapons, primarily of foreign origin,’ if and when we consider it appropriate.”

 

The renewed directive comes after recent Ukrainian strikes, which included the shelling of the border town of Lgov in the Kursk region. Interim Governor Aleksandr Khinshtein stated that at least 12 civilians, including two children, were wounded in the incident.

 

In retaliation, Russian forces launched targeted strikes on several Ukrainian military installations in and around Kursk, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.

 

The Ministry further reported that its air defence systems had downed a total of 485 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the past 48 hours across various regions of the Russian Federation. Sixty-three of these were intercepted in the Moscow region, with the highest number shot down over the Orel region.

 

The intensification of hostilities has raised concern among regional observers, who fear a further escalation of the conflict as both sides continue to rely heavily on drone warfare and long-range missile systems.