Russia Putin does not rule out taking the Ukrainian city of Sumy
Russian President Vladimir Putin has for the first time threatened the possible seizure of the Ukrainian regional capital Sumy. "We do not have the goal of taking Sumy, but in principle I do not rule it out," Putin said in St. Petersburg at the plenary session of the economic forum in response to a journalist's question.
20.06.2025, 19:17
SDA
Russian troops have been capturing more and more villages in the region of the same name in the north-east for months. Putin also explained that the armed forces were establishing a buffer zone there. So far, it goes ten to twelve kilometers deep into the country. The capture of the regional capital Sumy is possible. The front line runs only about 18 kilometers from the city limits.
Russia has annexed the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson in a war of aggression that has lasted more than three years. Moscow recently threatened that further regions could follow if Kiev did not agree to Russia's maximum demands for an end to the war.
