CNN
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Russian troops are creating “security buffer zones” along the border between Russia and Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
“I have already stated that I have decided to create the necessary security buffer zones along the border. Our troops are now solving this issue. The enemy’s fire points are actively restrained and work is ongoing,” Putin said.
Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the plan was “aggressive” and demonstrated that “Russia is an obstacle to current peace efforts.”
Thursday’s announcement came ahead of the expected prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia on Friday. This is the result of a face-to-face meeting in Türkiye last week, with both countries holding their first in-person meeting at the level of three years.
The Russian president raised the possibility of creating a “buffer zone” in March when he visited Russia’s Kursk region earlier. He doubled the border plan during a meeting with government members Thursday, during which he discussed the need to “recover and rebuild everything that has been destroyed” in the border area.
“(We need) to help people recover all transportation and other infrastructure in their home villages, settlements, and (and) security conditions allowed,” Putin added.
The Russian leader is planning to hold a dedicated meeting to discuss the “repair” project, Russian state media reported Thursday.
The announcement comes days after Putin’s first visit to Russia’s Kursk region since he claimed he had taken the region completely from Ukrainian forces, state media reported Wednesday.
Twelve civilians, including two children, were injured in a Ukrainian strike in the LGOV town of Kursk, the region’s representative governor said Thursday. According to the initial assessment, the four vehicles, two houses and one apartment building were also damaged by a “large” strike, officials said.
The Russian leader discussed the new buffer zone with local government officials during a visit to the area, according to a recent report from the WAR Institute, a US-based conflict monitor issued Wednesday.
The report alleges that Putin was asked by local officials to create a buffer zone in the Smee area, and Putin asked how many kilometres should be in the depth of the zone.
Putin also said Ukrainian troops were about to move towards the Russian border during the visit, according to Ria Novosti news agency.
Kiev launched an attack on Russian border territory last August. This was Russia’s first ground invasion by foreign forces since World War II, dominated parts of the region until late last month. Kiev intended it to be used as a key negotiation tip for peace negotiations.
Such a dialogue didn’t happen until last week when Kiev and Moscow teams began meeting in person in Turkey to discuss the end of the war and agreed to a prisoner exchange.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Russia has received a list of Ukraine’s proposed prisoners of war, which will be exchanged in the expected swap on Friday.
“Yes, certainly, we’ve received it now,” was reported that Peskov said when asked about the list in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukraine will “clear details of each individual on the list submitted by the Russian side.”
“The agreement to release 1,000 people from Russian prisoners was probably the only concrete result of the meeting in Türkiye. We are working to ensure that this result is achieved,” Zelensky posted.
CNN’s Lex Harvey and Victoria Butenko contributed to this report.
