President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russians will do everything to cross the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk oblast. Also, according to him, the enemy has concentrated about 50,000 troops in the Sumy direction.
The head of state said this during a conversation with journalists, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“They will do everything to cross the administrative border of Dnipro region. They want to do so. So far, they have not succeeded. They want to capture Pokrovsk, they are doing the same. Luhansk and Donetsk regions remain exactly the strategic goals that have been set for them since 2014,” Zelensky said.
He also confirmed the Russians’ intention to create a so-called 10-kilometer buffer zone in Sumy region.
“Now they are amassing troops in the Sumy direction. More than 50 thousand. We understand that. But we are making progress there. Today [the President’s meeting with journalists took place on May 27], for example, we took 8 prisoners in the area of Tiotkino,” the President said.
According to him, Russians have concentrated their strongest troops in the Kursk direction.
“In order to push our troops out of Kursk region and to prepare offensive actions in Sumy region. To build this buffer zone, as they call it, 10 kilometers deep into Ukraine. I think they realize that they lack these capabilities. This is true now. Although in Kursk region, I think our troops did the right thing. They left one direction and entered another direction in the Kursk region. Our troops have a good record there. That is, we will stay there until the Russians want to end the war or at least [make] the first step – a ceasefire,” the head of state said.
He also emphasized that Russians are constantly carrying out offensive actions, but they have not managed to conduct a major operation.
“They were unable to amass troops in the Sumy sector, for which they were preparing from the Kursk sector, because of our response. In the Pokrovsk direction, in Kostiantynivka, we had problems, but there were successful battles. Over the past two days, we pushed them back 4 kilometers in Kostyantynivka. That means they cannot completely withdraw all their troops from the Pokrovsk direction. Just as they could not move all their troops to the Pokrovsk direction to capture Pokrovsk,” Zelensky said.
He also described the situation in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions.
“We have seen information on the Zaporizhzhia direction. That is, they have the same goals. They have some fantasists who keep talking about the Kherson offensive across the river. But it’s clear that these are the Russians – I’m not sure if they are sober – who don’t care how many people die there. Forcing the river, as we understand what it is like in Kherson region, is absolutely impossible today,” the President emphasized.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, according to the General Staff, 216 combat engagements took place between the Ukrainian Defense Forces and the Russian invaders yesterday, May 27, most of them in the Pokrovsk sector.
Photo: OP
