has declared that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people” and that, in that sense, “all of Ukraine is ours.”
The assertion underscores Moscow’s continued underlying rejection of Ukrainian sovereignty and raises renewed alarm over .
What did Putin say about Ukraine’s sovereignty?
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Putin issued a series of provocative remarks, notably stating: “We have a saying… where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours.”
He was responding to a question about Russia’s objectives for its , launched in February 2022.
The Russian leader emphasized that while Russia “never doubted” Ukraine’s sovereignty after its 1991 independence, it had declared itself a neutral state — a stance he accused of having abandoned.
Reiterating a longstanding narrative, he said Russians and Ukrainians were essentially the same nation — a position Kyiv and its Western allies categorically reject.
“I have said many times that I consider the Russian and Ukrainian peoples to be one people. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours,” Putin said.
Ukraine said Putin’s comments showed his “disdain” for the peace process.
“Putin’s cynical statements demonstrate complete disdain for US peace efforts,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said in a post on X. “The only way to force Russia into peace is to deprive it of its sense of impunity.”
What did Putin say about Sumy?
Among the key developments, Putin said he did not “rule out” the capture of the , which lies roughly 30 kilometers (just over 18 miles) from the Russian border.
“We have no objective to take Sumy but, in principle, I do not rule it out,” he said, accusing Ukrainian forces of persistently shelling Russian border areas. He added that Russian troops had already penetrated up to 12 kilometers into Ukrainian territory in the Sumy region to create what he called a protective “buffer zone.”
Sumy, though not among the five Ukrainian regions Moscow claims to have annexed — , Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and — has been a frequent target of Russian attacks. It also served as a launching point for a Ukrainian counteroffensive into Russia’s western Kursk region last August, during which Kyiv’s forces briefly captured dozens of settlements before being pushed back by Russian troops — bolstered by thousands of North Korean soldiers, according to reports.
Putin’s remarks come amid growing skepticism over the viability of peace negotiations, with Moscow continuing to demand further Ukrainian territorial concessions as a precondition for any ceasefire.
Edited by Sean Sinico
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