Putin stated that there was no task “pick up the amounts” but did not rule out that

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said on June 20, which does not exclude Russia’s seizure control over Ukrainian sums.

“We do not have such a task-to take the amounts, but in principle I do not exclude it,” Putin said at the Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.

He once again said that the Russian troops create a “security zone” in Sumy region “because of the threat” by the Ukrainian forces, and noted that it was “somewhere from 10 to 12 kilometers, then Sumy, the regional center.”

Putin also said that Russia does not seek the surrender of Ukraine, but “insists on the recognition of realities on Earth.”

Read also: Another bridgehead? The Russian Army increases the pressure in the Sumy region

At the same time, the Russian leader stated: “We have … the ancient rule: where the leg of the Russian soldier step, there is ours.”

In the Sumy region, bordering on Kursk and Belgorod regions of the Russian Federation, active fighting is ongoing. Russian troops regularly fire the settlements of Sumy region from artillery, attack drones and dump aircraft. The border suffers from the greatest destruction – most locals left their homes.

At the end of May, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia had harvested 50,000 soldiers near Sumy region.

The American Institute for the Study of the ISW has repeatedly emphasized that Russia is promoting the demands equivalent to Ukraine, and that Russia will continue to promote this purpose as long as Putin believes that he could win in Ukraine. To change this, analysts say, Ukraine’s further support is needed by the West, including the United States.