Russia's Gerasimov says Putin ordered Ukraine buffer zone expansion in 2026

Dec 31 (Reuters) - Russia’s top general said its forces were pressing forward in northeastern Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin had ordered expansion of territory Moscow calls a buffer zone there in 2026, Russian news agencies said on Wednesday.

Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said Putin ordered expansion in 2026 of the buffer zone in Ukraine’s regions of Sumy and Kharkiv near the Russian border, RIA said, adding that he inspected the “North” troop grouping.

The grouping, formed in early 2024, has operated in northeastern Ukraine, seeking to create a buffer along the border and trying to push back Ukrainian forces there for further advances.

Gerasimov's remarks follow Russia's vow to retaliate for what it claimed, without evidence, was an attempt to attack Putin's residence, an allegation Kyiv denied, saying it was aimed at derailing peace talks as the war nears its fourth year.

There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine to the Gerasimov report.

Putin has repeatedly portrayed the buffer zone as a way to push Ukrainian forces and weapons farther from Russia’s border, citing cross-border shelling and drone attacks on regions such as Belgorod and Kursk.

Kyiv has rejected Moscow’s buffer zone calling it an idea Russia is using to justify deeper incursions into Ukrainian territory.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Moscow’s plans for Sumy and Kharkiv are “mad” and will be resisted as Ukraine defends the regions.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Clarence Fernandez)