President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian forces will do everything they can to cross the administrative border of the Dnipropetrovsk region. He also stated that around 50,000 Russian troops have been concentrated in the direction of Sumy.
He made these remarks while speaking to journalists.
“They will do everything to cross the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk region. That is their goal. So far, they have not succeeded. They want to capture Pokrovsk, and they continue pushing toward that. Luhansk and Donetsk regions remain their strategic objectives, the same ones they’ve had since 2014,” Zelensky said.
He also confirmed Russia’s intention to create a so-called 10-kilometer buffer zone in the Sumy region.
“Right now, they are building up troops in the Sumy direction. More than 50,000. We are aware of it. But we also have successes there. Today [May 27], for example, we captured eight prisoners near Tyotkino,” the President said.
According to him, the strongest Russian forces have been concentrated in the Kursk direction.
“This is meant to push our forces out of the Kursk region and prepare for offensive actions toward Sumy — to build this buffer zone they speak of, 10 kilometers deep into Ukraine. I believe they understand that they lack the capability to achieve this. That’s the case for now. Though I think our forces acted wisely in Kursk — they withdrew from one direction and advanced in another. We are holding ground there, and we will stay until the Russians either end the war or at least take the first step — a ceasefire,” Zelensky said.
He also noted that Russian forces continue offensive operations, but have failed to launch a large-scale operation.
“The troop buildup toward Sumy from the Kursk direction — they were unable to achieve this due to our actions. In the Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka areas, we had challenges, but also successful battles. In the last two days, we pushed them back four kilometers near Kostiantynivka. So they can’t fully pull troops from the Pokrovsk direction, nor can they shift all their forces there to try and capture Pokrovsk,” Zelensky said.
He also commented on the situation in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
“We’ve seen reports about Zaporizhzhia. Their goals remain unchanged. There are still some fantasists talking about a Kherson offensive across the river. But clearly, these are the kind of Russians — I’m not sure they’re sober — who don’t care how many of their people die. Crossing the river — we all understand what that means in Kherson — is absolutely impossible at the moment,” the President stressed.
