President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia justified the war in Ukraine on Friday by saying Russians and Ukrainians were one people “and in that sense the whole of Ukraine is ours,” as he suggested the Russian military may yet capture more territory.
Russia has already annexed four Ukrainian regions, but Mr. Putin suggested his forces may soon take yet another big city.
Speaking at an annual economic conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, Mr. Putin did not rule out Russian forces taking the city of Sumy. A Russian offensive in northern Ukraine has put its forces about 12 miles outside that city’s center.
“We don’t have a goal to grab Sumy,” Mr. Putin said. “But I don’t exclude it in principle.”
“Wherever a Russian soldier steps foot, that’s ours,” he added…..
ISW.…Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 20, 2025
- Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russians and Ukrainians are one nation and all of Ukraine is effectively Russian as part of efforts to justify his continued conquest of Ukraine.
- Putin asserted that Russia will be able to achieve its goals through a protracted war in Ukraine.
- Putin and other Kremlin officials are using the guise of “buffer zones” to expand Russia’s territorial demands in Ukraine.
- The Kremlin continues to prioritize maintaining the facade of economic stability by pursuing economic policies that will likely exacerbate Russia’s economic instability.
- Putin is attempting to obfuscate the reality that increased investment in Russia’s defense industrial base (DIB) has come at the cost of Russia’s civilian economic sectors.
- Open-source intelligence suggests that Russia is increasing its T-90M tank production capabilities
- Ukraine and Russia conducted the sixth prisoner of war (POW) exchange in accordance with the June 2 Istanbul agreements.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Brigadier General Hennadii Shapovalov as Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces on June 19.
- Russian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk, Siversk, Toretsk, and Pokrovsk….
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