Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Friday (May 17) said that their current plan does not include capturing the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. He added that the Russian forces, which have been operating close to Kharkhiv, have been creating a “buffer zone” for their own security and to protect Russian border regions.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Friday (May 17) said that their current plan does not include capturing the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. He added that the Russian forces, which have been operating close to Kharkhiv, have been creating a “buffer zone” for their own security and to protect Russian border regions. While speaking at a press conference in China, Putin said that all of the military operations were going ahead as per plan. Russia attacked Kharkiv to stop cross-border shelling: Putin Putin said that a ground assault was launched by Russia into Ukraine's northeast to stop cross-border shelling. On May 10, thousands of Russian troops launched artillery fire on various Ukrainian towns and villages and captured more than 200 square kilometres of land, which was the biggest advance made by the Russian Army in 18 months. Also Read: New front opens in Russia-Ukraine war as Moscow launches surprise offensive "As for what is happening on the Kharkiv front, this is their fault, because they have shelled and continue to shell residential neighbourhoods in border areas including Belgorod," said Putin, while speaking to the reporters in the Chinese city of Harbin. "And I said publicly that if this continues, we will be forced to create a security zone," he said. Speaking about Russia's plan to capture the city of Kharkiv, Putin said: "As for Kharkiv, there are no such plans as of today." He added that he spoke about the Ukraine conflict with Chinese President Xi Jinping in an informal meeting, and appreciated the efforts of Beijing to end the conflict. Watch: Russia-Ukraine war: Will Ukraine strike deeper into Russia? "We have repeatedly said, we believe that China is sincerely seeking to resolve this problem, offers various options, and behaves very flexibly," said the Russian president. Russian forces further advance in Kharkiv The area of active combat was expanded by the Russian forces by almost 70 km as they launched their offensive in the Kharkiv region, confirmed Ukraine’s army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on Friday (May 17). Syrskyi said that Russia launched the offensive to force Ukraine to push additional reserve brigades into fighting. He said that he expects fighting to intensify since Kyiv troops have also made preparations for defending the northern region of Sumy. Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos (With inputs from agencies)

Russia has no plans of capturing Ukraine's Kharkiv, forces creating 'buffer zone': Putin

A key rebel alliance in Syria's Idlib has said it was opposed to the deployment of Russian forces in a demilitarised zone to be set up under a Turkey-Russia deal for the opposition bastion.

The deal agreed last month between Ankara and Moscow provides for the establishment of a U-shaped buffer zone around Idlib that would be free of both jihadists and heavy weapons.

The buffer would be patrolled by Turkish troops and Russian military police.

The National Liberation Front, a powerful Turkish-backed rebel alliance in Idlib, cautiously welcomed the deal but has since raised objections.&nbsp;

"A long meeting was held with our Turkish ally regarding the elements of the agreement, and chiefly the issue of Russia's presence in the buffer area," NLF spokesman Naji Mustafa said late Sunday.&nbsp;

"We discussed the issue, and the NLF took a clear position rejecting this matter," he said, adding that Turkey "pledged that it would not happen".

The accord over Idlib was reached on September 17 by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Russian resort town of Sochi.&nbsp;

Under the agreement, all factions in the planned buffer area must hand over their heavy weapons by October 10 and radical groups must withdraw by October 15.

Mustafa's statement on Sunday was the latest indication of continued divisions and confusion over the accord. &nbsp;

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said Sunday that an NLF faction known as Faylaq al-Sham had begun pulling out its heavy weapons from three towns in the planned zone.&nbsp;

Both Faylaq al-Sham and the NLF denied the withdrawal to AFP.&nbsp;

"There have been no changes in the location of weapons or redistribution of fighters, even as we remain committed to the agreement reached in (the Russian resort of) Sochi," said Sayf al-Raad.

Idlib lies on the border with Turkey and is held by a complex array of rival rebel and jihadist factions, which observers expect will complicate the buffer zone's creation.

Most of the territory where the buffer would be set up is held by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist-led alliance, and other hardliners.

HTS has yet to officially comment on the deal, but its chief Abu Mohammad al-Jolani has previously warned that rebel weapons were a "red line".&nbsp;

Hurras al-Deen, a smaller Al-Qaeda-linked group, has rejected the agreement.

On Saturday, formerly US-backed rebel group Jaish al-Izza followed suit, saying the deal "bails out (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad."

A key rebel alliance in Syria's Idlib has said it was opposed to the deployment of Russian forces in a demilitarised zone to be set up under a Turkey-Russia deal for the opposition bastion.

A key rebel alliance in Syria's Idlib has said it was opposed to the deployment of Russian forces in a demilitarised zone to be set up under a Turkey-Russia deal for the opposition bastion. The deal agreed last month between Ankara and Moscow provides for the establishment of a U-shaped buffer zone around Idlib that would be free of both jihadists and heavy weapons. The buffer would be patrolled by Turkish troops and Russian military police. The National Liberation Front, a powerful Turkish-backed rebel alliance in Idlib, cautiously welcomed the deal but has since raised objections. "A long meeting was held with our Turkish ally regarding the elements of the agreement, and chiefly the issue of Russia's presence in the buffer area," NLF spokesman Naji Mustafa said late Sunday. "We discussed the issue, and the NLF took a clear position rejecting this matter," he said, adding that Turkey "pledged that it would not happen". The accord over Idlib was reached on September 17 by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Russian resort town of Sochi. Under the agreement, all factions in the planned buffer area must hand over their heavy weapons by October 10 and radical groups must withdraw by October 15. Mustafa's statement on Sunday was the latest indication of continued divisions and confusion over the accord. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said Sunday that an NLF faction known as Faylaq al-Sham had begun pulling out its heavy weapons from three towns in the planned zone. Both Faylaq al-Sham and the NLF denied the withdrawal to AFP. "There have been no changes in the location of weapons or redistribution of fighters, even as we remain committed to the agreement reached in (the Russian resort of) Sochi," said Sayf al-Raad. Idlib lies on the border with Turkey and is held by a complex array of rival rebel and jihadist factions, which observers expect will complicate the buffer zone's creation. Most of the territory where the buffer would be set up is held by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist-led alliance, and other hardliners. HTS has yet to officially comment on the deal, but its chief Abu Mohammad al-Jolani has previously warned that rebel weapons were a "red line". Hurras al-Deen, a smaller Al-Qaeda-linked group, has rejected the agreement. On Saturday, formerly US-backed rebel group Jaish al-Izza followed suit, saying the deal "bails out (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad."

Syria rebels reject Russia presence in planned buffer zone

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