Putin: "No plans to occupy Sumy, but I wouldn't rule it out"

Tetyana Oliynyk - 20 June, 19:11

Putin and guests at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photo: Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency TASS

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has claimed that Russia is establishing a buffer zone in Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast and said he has not ruled out capturing the city of Sumy. He also brought up the "dirty bomb" again – an allegation first made in October 2022 that Ukraine was supposedly planning to use a device containing radioactive material combined with conventional explosives on Russian soil.

Source: Putin in a speech at the 28th St Petersburg International Economic Forum, as reported by Russian media

Details: Putin claimed that Russia has driven the Ukrainian troops out of Kursk Oblast, although Ukraine's General Staff says the fighting there continues.

Now, according to Putin, Russian troops are being "forced" to create a "security zone" near the border.

"The advance in Sumy Oblast is somewhere between 10 and 12 km deep," Putin said, describing Russian gains in the area. "Further on is the city of Sumy, the regional capital. We haven't set taking Sumy as a task, but I'm not ruling it out in principle."

Putin also mentioned the "dirty bomb" propaganda claim again in his speech, warning that if Ukraine used such a weapon against Russia, it would be a "colossal mistake", as Russia’s retaliation would have tragic repercussions. However, Putin said he "hopes it will never come to that".

Quote: "Our intelligence has no confirmation that Ukraine wants to use a 'dirty bomb' against Russia, though we're not ruling it out that this idea could appear in someone's sick mind."

Previously:

The Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on 26 May that four settlements in Sumy Oblast were under Russian control: Novenke and Basivka in the Yunakivka hromada, and Veselivka and Zhuravka in the Khotin hromada. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]
On 12 June, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukrainian units were gradually pushing Russian forces back from Sumy Oblast.

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