Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s ‘buffer zone’ strategy in tatters after Kyiv reclaims swathes of territory
Ukraine claims to have taken back almost all of its territory in a key region that Vladimir Putin wanted to turn into a “buffer zone”.
Senior general Oleksandr Komarenko told reporters that Ukrainian troops now controlled almost all of the Dnipropetrovsk region after liberating 400 square kilometres in counterattacks.
He said this undermined Russia’s attempted strategy of seizing a strip of territory beyond its stated claims in the Donbas, to serve as a “buffer zone” and support further offensive operations.
Earlier, Donald Trump said the US would loosen oil-related Ukraine war sanctions on “some countries” after an hour-long phone call with Vladimir Putin.
Trump said they discussed both the Ukraine war and the conflict in the Middle East during a “very good call”. He said they had a “positive” discussion about the European conflict despite what he called “tremendous hatred” between Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump said Putin offered help bringing a quick diplomatic end to the Iran war. “I said, ‘You could be more helpful by getting the Ukraine–Russia war over with. That will be more helpful,’” Trump told reporters.
