‘I do not rule it out’: Putin hints at taking Ukrainian city Sumy three years after Ukraine forced them out of region

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday (June 20) said that he did not ‘rule out’ his forces taking control of Ukraine's northeastern city of Sumy as part of efforts to create a buffer zone along the border.

"We have no objective to take Sumy, but in principle I do not rule it out... They pose a constant threat to us, constantly shelling the border areas," Putin told attendees at Russia's flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg.

Sumy is about 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the Russian border and has been intensively hit since Russia began its February 2022 offensive. In a series of aggressive comments, Putin appeared to echo his refutation of Ukrainian statehood. "I treat Russians and Ukrainians as one people. In this sense, all of Ukraine belongs to us," he said.

“There is a saying: wherever a Russian soldier puts his foot, that is ours.” The remarks cast new uncertainty over the potential for peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.

Russia has long been dismissing demands for an unconditional ceasefire, and has insisted that Ukraine surrender even more land as a condition.

Ukraine had launched a counter-attack into Russia's western Kursk region last August from its northeastern Sumy region. Kyiv's forces seized dozens of border villages, which they occupied for months, before being driven out by Russia's troops -- with the assistance of thousands of North Korean troops -- in earlier this year.

Putin has now directed his forces to establish what he described as a "buffer zone" along the Russian border within Ukrainian territory. Russia's military has captured several border towns in the Sumy region over the past few weeks. Putin reported on Friday that his forces had moved up to 12 kilometers into Ukrainian territory in the area, which is not part of the five Ukrainian regions that Moscow reports as having officially annexed.

In March 2025, Russia announced it had captured territory in Ukraine's Sumy region for the first time since 2022 in a cross-border offensive as Kyiv struggles to hold onto territory in Russia's neighbouring Kurskregion.