Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha sharply criticized recent statements by Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, emphasizing their complete contempt for international efforts to achieve peace. In his statement, Sybiha highlighted that the Russian leader not only ignores calls for an end to aggression but also openly speaks about plans to seize new Ukrainian territories.
This is reported by Київ24
Russia’s Military Rhetoric and Ukraine’s Response
In response to Putin’s words about the possibility of capturing Sumy, Sybiha noted that such statements only deepen the conflict and indicate the Kremlin’s intentions to continue aggression. He emphasized that Russian military actions bring only “death, destruction, and devastation” to Ukrainians, and that Putin, according to the minister, is a “mass murderer of his own people,” who has already destroyed a million Russian soldiers in the war against Ukraine without achieving any strategic goals.
“While the United States and the rest of the world call for an immediate halt to the killings, the chief Russian war criminal discusses plans to seize more Ukrainian territory and kill even more Ukrainians,” Sybiha wrote on social media platform X, commenting on Putin’s statements today, where he did not rule out the intention to capture Ukrainian Sumy.
Putin’s Threats and the Situation in Sumy Region
On June 20, Putin publicly stated that Russia does not rule out the possibility of establishing control over Sumy, although this is supposedly not an immediate goal. At the same time, the Russian leader emphasized that Russia does not demand Ukraine’s capitulation but only insists on “recognizing the realities on the ground.” His phrase, “We have… an ancient rule: wherever a Russian soldier steps, that is ours,” resonated particularly strongly.
Meanwhile, Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated in an interview with a British television channel that Russia has no intention of agreeing to a ceasefire as proposed by the United States, as it considers itself in a more advantageous strategic position.
In the Sumy region, which borders the Kursk and Belgorod regions of the Russian Federation, intense fighting continues. Russian troops regularly shell populated areas of the region with artillery, attack with drones, and drop bombs. Border areas are particularly suffering, where most residents have been forced to leave their homes due to constant shelling and destruction.
At the end of May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Russia had amassed about 50,000 troops near the border with Sumy region. The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has repeatedly noted that the Kremlin seeks conditions that effectively amount to the complete capitulation of Ukraine and will continue to apply military pressure as long as Putin believes in the possibility of victory. Analysts emphasize that further large-scale support for Ukraine from the West, particularly the United States, is necessary to change this situation.
Sybiha called on the international community to increase sanctions pressure on Russia, recognize it as a terrorist state, and completely isolate it to deprive the Kremlin of a sense of impunity and force it to peace.