Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 31, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleRussia's General Gerasimov calls for buffer zones in Ukraine to protect Russian regions, a move condemned by Ukraine as territorial expansion.
MOSCOW, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Russia's top general has told troops to keep carving out buffer zones in Ukraine's Sumy and Kharkiv regions in order to protect civilians in Russia's neighbouring Kursk and Belgorod regions from Ukrainian attacks.
General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff, made the comments during a visit to a command post belonging to Russia's "North" military grouping, which the Defence Ministry publicised on Wednesday.
The ministry did not say when Gerasimov made the comments or where the post was located.
There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine to Gerasimov's comments, but Kyiv has repeatedly condemned Moscow's efforts to carve out buffer zones inside its territory, accusing Russia of using the pretext of security zones to illegally grab more of its territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Moscow's plans for Sumy and Kharkiv are “mad” and will be resisted as Ukraine defends the two regions.
Gerasimov said Russian forces had taken control of around 950 square kilometres (366 square miles) in the two provinces, including 32 settlements.
Reuters could not verify his battlefield assertions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin affirmed the idea of buffer zones after Ukraine staged a surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region in August 2024, which Moscow's forces then repelled in months of fierce fighting which saw both sides suffer heavy losses.
In a Kremlin meeting on December 29, Putin called work to carve out buffer zones very important and said it needed to continue in the new year.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne/Andrew Osborn in London; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Clarence Fernandez)
A buffer zone is a neutral area created to separate conflicting parties, often used in military contexts to protect civilians and reduce the risk of conflict escalation.
Military strategy refers to the planning and execution of operations to achieve specific military objectives, often involving the deployment of forces and resources.
International capital refers to financial assets or investments that cross national borders, often used for funding projects or businesses in different countries.
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