Overview
- Putin stated that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people” and claimed “in that sense the whole of Ukraine is ours.”
- He said Russian forces have penetrated up to 12 kilometers into the Sumy region to form a buffer zone and did not rule out capturing the city of Sumy.
- President Zelenskyy rejected Putin’s terms as akin to capitulation and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Moscow of contempt for US-led peace efforts.
- Russia currently controls about a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea and major portions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, plus fragments of Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk.
- Putin warned of a “catastrophic” response if Ukraine uses a “dirty bomb,” as frontline clashes intensify and diplomatic efforts remain stalled.