Latest news with #UkraineBorder
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
At last, Putin is getting a taste of his own medicine
Sunday, June 1, may go down as one of the most significant days of this war. It may be a sign that the pendulum is at last swinging in Ukraine's favour. The Russian Air Force has apparently just suffered a terrible blow, with up to 40 fighter jets, including long range nuclear bombers, destroyed thousands of miles from Ukraine. In what could be a sequential attack, the Russian rail network near the Ukraine border has been decimated by several strikes, and even Russian bases in the Arctic have been hit. This would have been considered unthinkable a few months ago, including by Putin no doubt. It is seemingly now apparent that restrictions of the use of Western weapons by Ukraine are being lifted. This brings into range anything within 500kms of Ukraine – including Moscow. The Ukrainian military has also confirmed they had developed a drone with a range of over 3,000kms. Indeed, we may have seen both these capabilities in action today, and even the great Russian propaganda and disinformation machine will struggle to portray this as anything but a disaster for Putin and the Russian forces. Where is all the air defence protecting these airfields and trains? Perhaps protecting Putin's palaces, or given away to North Korea in return for ammunition? The timing of these attacks is significant: discontent is mounting in Russia amongst the rank and file. As Putin drives their economy and way of life into the deck, rumblings of rebellion will be even harder to stifle. This is not one way traffic and Russia also launched a massive drone attack over the weekend, almost exclusively hitting civilian targets. Putin seems to believe if you kill enough people they will acquiesce and give up, but his instincts and his tactics could soon bite him back hard, very hard. Now that much of Russia is now in range of Kyiv attacks, be it drones, missiles or the frighteningly efficient assassins of Ukraine's secret service the SBU, how will the Kremlin respond? This bold action also lays bare the inadequacies of the UK military. Could Britain execute such ingenious and effective attacks, after 20 years of funding cuts and neglect from successive governments, such that the only way we can ensure the security of our Islands in future is through the re-introduction of tactical nuclear weapons? Putin has exploited our lack of conventional deterrence for too long, but he respects strength, and nothing shows strength in this context more than nuclear capability. The level, range and intensity of these attacks shows that after three years of repelling Russian attacks, Ukraine is now returning the compliment. As the UK Strategic Defence Review is unveiled, let us hope it reveals that we are now learning from the Ukrainian experience and developing capabilities for tomorrow's battlefield and capabilities which will deter tyrants like Putin, rather than just kit that looks good on the parade ground.
CNN
22-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Russian forces are creating ‘buffer zone' along Russia-Ukraine border, Putin says
Russian armed forces are creating a 'security buffer zone' along the border between Russia and Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. 'I have already said that a decision was made to create the necessary security buffer zone along the border. Our armed forces are currently solving this problem. Enemy firing points are being actively suppressed, the work is underway,' Putin said. Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said the plan was 'aggressive' and demonstrated that 'Russia is the obstacle of peace efforts now.' Thursday's announcement was made ahead of an expected prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia on Friday – an outcome of last week's face-to-face talks in Turkey, the first time the two countries have held direct talks at any level in three years. The Russian president previously raised the possibility of creating a 'buffer zone' in March during a visit to Russia's Kursk region. He doubled down on the border plan during a meeting on Thursday with members of the government, during which he discussed the need to 'restore and rebuild everything that was destroyed' in the border region. '(We must) help people return to their native villages, settlements, (and) where security conditions allow, restore all transport and other infrastructure,' Putin added. The Russian leader is planning on hosting a dedicated meeting to discuss the 'restoration' projects, Russian state media reported on Thursday. The announcement comes days after Putin visited Russia's Kursk region for the first time since claiming to have completely retaken the region from Ukrainian forces, state media reported on Wednesday. During the visit, the Russian leader said that Ukrainian forces were trying to move toward the Russian border, according to RIA Novosti news agency. Kyiv launched its offensive into the Russian border territory last August – the first ground invasion of Russia by a foreign power since World War II – and had held control of parts of the region until late last month. Kyiv had intended on using it as a key bargaining chip in any peace talks. Such dialogue did not materialize until last week, when teams from Kyiv and Moscow met in person in Turkey to begin discussing an end to the war and agreed upon a prisoner exchange – 1,000 people from each side. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Russia had received Ukraine's proposed list of prisoners of war to be exchanged in Friday's expected swap, according to Russian state media. 'Yes, indeed, we have received it now,' Peskov was reported as saying when asked about the Ukrainian list. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X Thursday that Ukraine is 'clarifying the details for each individual included on the lists submitted by the Russian side.' 'The agreement to release 1,000 of our people from Russian captivity was perhaps the only tangible result of the meeting in Türkiye. We are working to ensure that this result is achieved,' Zelensky posted. CNN's Lex Harvey contributed to this report.
