News Feed

Russians aren't happy about Putin's 'buffer zone,' intercepted call released by Ukraine's HUR suggests

2 min read
Russians aren't happy about Putin's 'buffer zone,' intercepted call released by Ukraine's HUR suggests
Illustrative image: The entrance to the Russian city of Belgorod, some 40 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, on May 28, 2023. (Olga Maltseva / AFP via Getty Images)

Residents in Russian regions along the Ukrainian border complain the area is increasingly uninhabitable due to the government's actions amid Moscow's attempt to establish a "buffer zone," according to a call intercepted by Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) and posted May 29.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on May 22 that he ordered the military to begin creating a "security buffer zone" along the border of Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod oblasts.

In the call, a resident of Russia's Belgorod Oblast claims that authorities have cut off gas along the border. The speaker predicts mandatory evacuations will follow as living conditions worsen.

"Well, in short, it's clear that they're going to kick everyone out of the border areas and create a gray zone," the unidentified individual says.

"Gray zones" refer to areas along the border and front lines where there is contested or unclear control.

The resident speaking on the call anticipates that the area will become so heavily militarized it will be partitioned from the rest of the region.

"Let them make temporary settlements, zones, and that's it. They'll even fence it off with barbed wire," the resident says.

Russia's Belogorod Oblast, which borders Ukraine's Sumy, Kharkiv, and Luhansk oblasts, is regularly used as a staging area for Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory. Russian officials have also accused Kyiv of repeatedly launching strikes on the region and the city of Belgorod since the war began.

Ukraine launched a small-scale offensive in Belgorod Oblast in late March, marking Kyiv's second cross-border operation in Russian territory after the August 2024 Kursk incursion.

Russian forces are now reportedly amassing along the border in preparation for a possible offensive against Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, according to the State Border Guard Service.

Moscow has repeatedly indicated plans to create a buffer zone between Ukraine and Russia in the area.

Escalated violence along the Sumy border has triggered mass civilian evacuations, with tens of thousands of Ukrainians ordered to leave their homes.

Ukraine war latest: Russia reports 2nd consecutive day of Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow
* Russia reports 2nd consecutive day of Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow, building damaged on the outskirts * Rubio, Lavrov discuss next round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul * ‘No one has seen it yet’ — Zelensky slams Russia for stalling on ceasefire memorandum ahead of Istanbul talks * Russia amassed enough troops to
Article image

Avatar
Abbey Fenbert

Senior News Editor

Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.

Read more
News Feed
Video

The Kyiv Independent staff documented what it feels like to live and sleep in Kyiv, Ukraine, as Russia intensifies its drone and missile attacks on the city. Filmed over several weeks in June and July, our journalists take shelter in bathrooms, basements, and parking garages as explosions ring out overhead.

Show More