Attacks on Russia

Putin allegedly wants to set up a “buffer zone”

The Russian city of Belgorod is increasingly becoming a theater of war. The Kremlin now wants to take action.(Bild: APA/AFP/STRINGER)

Following Vladimir Putin's landslide victory in the presidential elections at the weekend, which was overshadowed by accusations of fraud and protests, the Kremlin is now reportedly examining plans to create a so-called "buffer zone" on Ukrainian territory not far from the common border. This is because the increasing Ukrainian attacks are causing more and more problems for Moscow.

"In recent months, the city (Belgorod, note) has become increasingly dangerous. This has been the case since the shelling on December 30. But it got even worse before the elections. People are now dying every day," 23-year-old Marina describes the situation in Belgorod to the exile media outlet "Meduza". Shelling was again reported in the Russian border town on Tuesday. Bullets hit a parking lot and a detached house, according to the Telegram channel "Mash".

The constant Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory are putting the aggressor state under increasing pressure. The population is living in fear, and the attacks on the energy sector are increasingly costly.

Buffer zone to secure areas
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov now claims to have found a solution to this difficult situation. He told reporters: "In light of the drone attacks and the shelling of our territory - including public facilities and residential buildings - measures must be taken to secure these areas. They can only be protected by creating a kind of buffer zone so that none of the means used by the enemy to attack us can reach us."

According to "The Warzone", however, such a plan is completely unrealistic at the present time. After all, Ukraine has repeatedly proven that it can reach and attack Russian targets as far away as Moscow or St. Petersburg with long-range drones. Recently, Kiev has hit oil facilities in the Russian cities of Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol, Ryazan and Samara, for example.

Kremlin ruler Putin also announced after his "victory" in the controversial sham elections that he was considering the establishment of a buffer zone: "In view of the tragic events of late, I cannot rule out that at some point, if we see fit, we will be forced to establish a certain 'sanitary zone' in the areas that are currently under the Kiev regime."

Kharkiv could be an interesting candidate
Such a zone would have to be large enough to prevent foreign-made weapons from reaching Russian territory.

According to "The Warzone", Russia could consider the Kharkiv region as a buffer zone. After all, the Russian armed forces had already conquered a large part of this territory at the beginning of the brutal war of aggression in February 2022. In September of the same year, however, they were pushed back out of the area as part of the Ukrainian counter-offensive.

Ukrainian presidential advisor Mychajlo Podoljak expressed his alarm and fears that these plans could lead to a catastrophe. He warned the news agency Reuters: "This is ... a clear announcement that the war will now escalate."