Latest news with #bufferzone
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Inside Israel's buffer zone in Syria
The Merkava main battle tank is parked as discreetly as possible behind the makeshift antenatal clinic, but its enormous turret still pokes out. Batal Ali, 25, does not seem fazed, however. Her mind is elsewhere. Nine months into her fourth pregnancy she has just been informed that the level of amniotic fluid around the baby is dangerously low. 'She needs to have a C-section and we're just working out which hospital to evacuate her to – probably Haifa,' says the chief physician. If this conversation were taking place just two miles to the west it would be unremarkable. But we are standing in Syria, part of Israel's controversial 150 square mile 'buffer zone' along its north-eastern border, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) seized in December 2024 after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. To critics it was a cynical land grab, nothing short of an invasion. According to the Israelis, however, it is a vital defensive measure to safeguard their communities in the Golan Heights from marauding jihadis and ultimately to prevent another Oct 7-style massacre. Nine forward operating bases have now been built across the dramatic countryside between Mount Hermon and the Jordanian border. Machine gun-mounted Humvees bearing the flag of the front-line Golani Brigade, and more ponderous armoured personnel carriers, churn up the roads in clouds of dust while sentries watch from the hilltops. The soldiers are fully armed and body armoured at all times. In the words of one Israeli military official from the 210th Division, the communities here are 'fragmented, suspicious'. Tension radiates out of the hills. The official says that Hezbollah elements have been detected in the region. There are also Isis supporters in the more southern section of the border zone, he claims. Although he concedes that the IDF has detected no active plots for an incursion into the Israel-controlled Golan Heights, he says hatred of the Jewish state constitutes a perpetual threat. 'There are streams that run underground,' he says. 'It's not happening yet but it will happen.' Alongside the military presence, the Israelis are providing humanitarian assistance to the Syrian border communities – those who will accept it at least. By and large these are the Druze, the minority Arab sect of Islamic origin with strong links to Israel thanks to the roughly 150,000 who live there. The liberation of Syria from Assad's tyranny has been a troubling time for many of them, with reports of sectarian clashes and massacres at the hands of the Sunni majority. The new IDF field clinic near the village of Hader is, in part, designed to give the Druze access to advanced healthcare now that the road to Damascus, less than 40 miles away, is so dangerous for them. 'I would rather go to Haifa for the birth than take my chances going to Damascus,' says Batal, who is now sitting in the waiting room, a large khaki tent, with her husband. 'It isn't safe for us.' She is one of about 40 patients who will visit the clinic that day, a collection of temporary metal cabins and army tents in the lee of Mount Hermon that has been open now for nearly a month. There, the team can carry out essential diagnostic work, such as Batal's ultrasound, along with blood tests and X-rays. 'Anyone with an immediate threat to life we evacuate [to Israel],' says the chief physician, an IDF colonel who cannot be named. 'We're trying not to replace the local doctors in the villages, that's a key humanitarian principle. But we'll tell them that, for example, on Thursday we'll have an orthopaedic clinic, on Monday we have our Obgyn specialist [obstetrician-gynaecologist], so they can tell their patients when to come.' Judging by the men's exuberant moustaches, distinctive dark clothes and short-sided white and light-blue hats, all the dozen or so patients waiting are Druze. The official confirms that the Sunni villages, by and large, want nothing to do with the Israelis, although the clinic will treat anyone who turns up. At first patients were presenting with war injuries, some months old, that had been left untreated. Now it's more likely to be everyday complaints. Once seen, each patient is handed a detailed discharge form written in Hebrew and English. In the past, this would have been a highly dangerous practice. During the early years of the Syrian civil war, when the IDF provided some medical care in this border region, they went to vast lengths to do so in secret, cutting the labels out of clothes they gave patients, aware that anyone known to have received Israeli help would be in grave danger. 'It's different now,' says the chief physician. 'Everyone knows we're here and we're helping them.' As well as assisting a community to which Israel has traditionally felt a strong sense of responsibility, the clinic at Hader serves their agenda by reminding the world of the sectarianism and continued violence east of the border, justifying their military takeover of the region and their wider scepticism of the new regime. Since Ahmed Al-Sharaa, a former jihadi with previous links to both al-Qaeda and Islamic State, swept to power in December 2024, Israel has been reminding anyone who will listen that you can't trust a 'terrorist in a suit'. They have continued their campaign of air strikes against former regime facilities and heavy weapons that could be used against Israel, and even bombed near the presidential palace recently as a 'warning' to the new leader not to allow attacks on the Druze. However, it is an argument they appear to be losing, as demonstrated by Donald Trump's decision in May to lift all sanctions to give Syria 'a chance of greatness'. Indeed, rather than fretting about his terrorist past, much more of a neo-conservative preoccupation than a Maga concern, Mr Trump praised Al-Sharaa as an 'attractive, tough guy'. There have even been suggestions of a Trump Tower in Damascus. On Thursday, the US's newly appointed envoy for Syria was in the capital as the Stars and Stripes were raised over the ambassador's residence for the first time since 2012. Meanwhile, seemingly ignored by its closest ally in Washington, Israel digs in, literally. It is digging a vast anti-tank defensive ditch along the border, with 30km now completed and another 30 to go. 'Mortal danger. Active military zone,' reads the sign on the border fence, topped with coils of vicious-looking barbed wire. That more or less sums up Israel's attitude to Syria at the moment, despite the great wave of hope across the Middle East unleashed by the fall of Assad. The day before The Telegraph visited, troops stationed on the Israel-occupied Golan side of the border conducted an exercise to see how fast they could reach certain Syrian villages in an emergency. And they say that while they have had some success in persuading villagers in the border zone to give up their weapons, few communities trust the situation enough to hand over all their guns. 'We don't want to occupy, we don't want to kill,' the official said. 'We just want to protect the border and protect our people.'
BBC News
27-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Russia's advance in Ukraine's north east may be bid to create 'buffer zone'
Russian forces are making gains in the Ukrainian north-eastern region of Sumy - a development that may be linked to Moscow's attempts to create "buffer zones" along the border, Ukrainian regional authorities have head of the Sumy region Oleh Hryhorov said Russian forces have seized four villages and that fighting is continuing near other settlements in the area "with the aim of setting up a so-called 'buffer zone'".Russia maintains it has captured six villages in Sumy so far. Last week, its leader Vladimir Putin announced a plan to create "security buffer zones" along the border. "Enemy firing points are being actively suppressed, the work is under way," he said. The buffer zones would be created to provide "additional support" to areas in Russia which border Ukraine's Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv regions, Putin a statement on Facebook on Monday, Sumy's Hryhorov wrote: "The enemy is continuing attempts to advance with the aim of setting up a so-called 'buffer zone',"He added that the villages of Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka and Zhuravka - all in Sumy - had been has not yet officially stated that Russian troops are in the Sumy region and, when contacted by the BBC, Hryhorov declined to confirm the information he shared on Monday, saying only the military could comment on front-line activities. The General Staff's daily briefings only mentioned clashes and other military activities in "the Kursk direction" - meaning towards the border with Russia - without naming any specific Ukrainian army's group of forces that coordinate military activities in the region declined the BBC's request for comment, indicating that information about the Russian advancement in the north is an extremely sensitive issue for Ukrainian in his address on Monday night Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned Russia's "preparation for new offensives" – which was largely interpreted as a reference to the events in the Sumy State map, a group that monitors the latest front-line developments in Ukraine, marked four Ukrainian villages as fully controlled by Russian forces even before Hyrhorov's announcement. Deep State's co-founder Roman Pohorily said that Russian troops have been pushing in those areas since military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets confirmed this, although he pointed out that Russia's advance has been very slow - about 1km (0.6 miles) in the past two weeks. Mr Mashovets also said Moscow recently relocated new units from the Donbas - to Sumy Vadym Mysnyk, a spokesperson for a formation of the ground forces that is involved in defending the Sumy region, said Russian forces mostly use small groups on motorbikes and buggies during their movement of larger armoured vehicles could be quickly spotted by drones and destroyed, Col Mysnyk explained. On the battlefield, speed and mobility are the Sumy region has regularly come under attack by Russian air strikes and artillery fire, with the regional administration reporting that since Saturday, Russia has dropped more than 30 guided bombs on the of the biggest attacks took place last month when ballistic missiles hit the city of Sumy killing 34 people. Several weeks later, drones hit an intercity bus killing nine targets residential buildings, hospitals and civilian vehicles to spread panic among the population, Col Mysnyk claimed. Russia denies that it targets civilians in strikes, saying they are aimed at military targets. Local authorities say evacuation is taking place in 202 settlements close to the front line, which makes up a third of all territorial communities of the region. Serhiy Grabskiy, a retired colonel and a military expert, agreed that the advances in Sumy are part of Moscow's plan to create a buffer zone. Grabskiy said Russia's main strategic goal is to seize the Donbas region in the east, where the most intensive fighting is taking the number of troops they have, Russia "cannot concentrate major forces to go deep in the north", Grabskiy called the Sumy region a "zone of distraction" - as by maintaining pressure in the north, Russia forces Ukraine to spread its resources and weaken positions in key front-line areas. The US-based Institute for the Study of War think tank also reports that any success in Sumy could be used by Putin as a leverage and justification for new territorial demands as part of future peace observers agree there is no immediate threat of a major breakthrough in the Sumy region. Based on the speed of their gains in the region so far, it is unlikely that in the near future Russian forces could capture a major city like Sumy, which had a population of 250,000 before the Pohorily of Deep State said Ukrainian troops have managed to stabilise the front line. "It's been almost three months since [Russia] started their operation in the Sumy region and yet, they are still at the border areas," he Mysnyk claimed that Ukraine has built defence lines along the entire border since 2022 and at present they're much better prepared to stop the Russian forces than they were at the start of the Russian those measures may not last long if the Kremlin's priorities change and Moscow sends greater forces to Sumy.
National Post
27-05-2025
- General
- National Post
Russia seizes Ukrainian border villages as its massive bombing campaign slows
Russian forces have taken four border villages in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, a local official said Tuesday, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had issued an order to establish a buffer zone along the border. Article content Sumy borders Russia's Kursk region, where a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year captured a pocket of land in the first occupation of Russian territory since World War II. Creating a buffer zone could help Russia prevent further Ukrainian cross-border attacks there. Article content Article content Meanwhile, a Russian bombing campaign that had escalated in recent days slowed overnight as far fewer Russian drones targeted Ukrainian towns and cities. Article content Moscow's invasion has shown no signs of stopping despite months of intense U.S.-led efforts to secure a ceasefire and get traction for peace talks. Since Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Turkey earlier this month for their first direct talks in three years, a large prisoner exchange has been the only tangible outcome, but negotiations have brought no significant breakthrough. Article content Article content Between Friday and Sunday, Russia launched around 900 drones at Ukraine, officials said, amid a spate of large-scale bombardments. On Sunday night, Russia launched its biggest drone attack of the 3-year war against Ukraine, firing 355 drones. Article content From Monday to Tuesday, Russia fired 60 drones at Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said Tuesday. Russia's Ministry of Defense claimed its air defenses downed 99 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions. Article content Article content The weekend surge in Russia's bombardments of Ukraine drew a rebuke from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said Putin had gone 'crazy.' That comment prompted a sharp Kremlin reaction Monday, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticizing 'emotional reactions' to events. Article content Article content Peskov adopted a milder tone Tuesday, hailing U.S. peace efforts and saying that 'the Americans and President Trump have taken a quite balanced approach.' Article content In Sumy, Russian forces are trying to advance deeper after capturing villages, Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy regional military administration, said in a statement. Article content Ukrainian forces are endeavoring to hold the line, he said. Residents of the captured villages were evacuated earlier, and there is no immediate threat to civilians, Hryhorov said.
Arab News
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Sumy region governor says Russian forces have captured four villages
May 26 : The governor of Ukraine's Sumy region on the Russian border said on Monday that Russian forces had captured four villages as part of an attempt to create a 'buffer zone' on Ukrainian territory. Oleh Hryhorov, writing on Facebook, listed four villages in the region that he said were now held by Russian forces. He said their residents had long been evacuated. 'The enemy is continuing attempts to advance with the aim of setting up a so-called 'buffer zone,'' he wrote. Russia's Defense Ministry earlier on Monday listed two villages, other than those announced by Hryhorov, that it said had come under Russian control.
Reuters
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Ukrainian governor says Russian forces capture four villages in Sumy
May 26 (Reuters) - The governor of Ukraine's Sumy region on the Russian border said on Monday that Russian forces had captured four villages as part of an attempt to create a "buffer zone" on Ukrainian territory. Russia's military and Russian military bloggers have in recent days reported captured villages in Sumy, which has come under frequent Russian air strikes for months. Sumy Region Governor Oleh Hryhorov, writing on Facebook, listed four villages inside the border that he said were now held by Russian forces -- Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka and Zhuravka. He said their residents had long been evacuated. "The enemy is continuing attempts to advance with the aim of setting up a so-called 'buffer zone,'" he wrote. Ukrainian forces, he said, "are keeping the situation under control, inflicting precise fire damage on the enemy". Hryhorov said fighting was continuing around other villages in the area, including Volodymyrivka and Bilovodiv -- two settlements that Russia's Defence Ministry had earlier on Monday said were now held by Moscow's forces. Russian reports in recent days had said that Moscow's forces had taken control of villages in the region. Ukraine's State Emergency Services reported that one person was killed on Monday when Russian forces shelled an area of Sumy region west of the captured villages. Sumy region is opposite Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched a large cross-border incursion last August. Moscow says Ukrainian troops have been ousted from Kursk, but Kyiv says its forces are still active there. Ukraine's popular military blog DeepState had said at the weekend that Russian forces had for the first time "been able to take up positions" along a line of border villages. A Russian missile strike on the region's main city, also called Sumy, killed 35 people on Palm Sunday last month. DeepState on Monday said Russian forces had launched attacks further east near Vovchansk in Kharkiv region, where it had launched an earlier incursion in May 2024.
