Russian forces are working to create a buffer zone along the country’s border with Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday, following a visit to the southern Kursk region.
Speaking via video link during a government meeting, Putin said the decision had already been made, though he offered no details on the zone’s location or scale.
“Our forces are actively working toward this goal, targeting and suppressing enemy firing positions,” he said.
Kyiv dismissed the announcement, condemning it as further evidence that Russia is not seeking peace.
“These new aggressive claims clearly reject peace efforts and show that Putin has been and remains the only reason the killing continues,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
Putin also ordered a comprehensive reconstruction program for southern Russian regions affected by the war, including Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk. Those areas have been damaged by Ukrainian drones and artillery fire.
He previously claimed the Kursk region had been cleared of Ukrainian troops following an incursion in August. Putin visited the region earlier this week.
He accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of lying when he said Ukrainian forces were still holding parts of Kursk and Belgorod.
Earlier, Russian authorities said Ukraine had launched a wave of drone attacks on Moscow’s airspace since Tuesday evening, claiming 485 combat drones were intercepted.
The unmanned aircraft kept the capital and surrounding areas on alert. Russia’s Defense Ministry said an especially high number of drones was shot down in the Moscow region, as well as in southern areas.
The military’s claims could not be independently verified but suggested near-continuous Ukrainian attacks. Despite the high volume of drones, reported damage on the ground was minimal.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said throughout the afternoon that drones heading toward the capital had been shot down.
Flights at Moscow’s airports were repeatedly suspended overnight, according to Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya. Temporary takeoff and landing restrictions have become routine amid ongoing drone threats.
About three dozen flights were delayed, the authority said. In the afternoon, Rosaviatsiya again imposed restrictions on several regional airports.
In the Bryansk region, one person was killed and another injured in a Ukrainian drone strike, according to Governor Alexander Bogomaz. Andrei Klychkov, governor of the Oryol region south of Moscow, reported “massive drone attacks” via Telegram. Mobile internet was reportedly shut down.
Meanwhile, Russian forces launched their own wave of attacks on Ukraine. An 85-year-old woman was killed in the Kherson region during Russian shelling, according to military Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia deployed an Iskander-M missile and a total of 128 drones and decoys overnight. Of those, 112 were intercepted. The regions of Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv were among those targeted.
Ukraine has been fending off Russia’s full-scale invasion for more than three years, with support from Western allies. As part of its defense strategy, it has targeted military and infrastructure sites inside Russia.
However, the scale of Ukrainian operations remains limited compared with the widespread destruction inflicted by Russia’s war.
