MOSCOW, June 21. /TASS/. The liberation of the city of Sumy is not a difficult task for the Russian Armed Forces due to the crisis in the Ukrainian army caused by major personnel and equipment losses following the incursion into the Kursk Region, military and political expert Yan Gagin told TASS.
Earlier, at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia’s security zone in the Sumy Region is 10-12 kilometers deep. The Russian leader also noted that he does not rule out taking control of Sumy but added that such a task is not among current goals. Russia’s actions at this point are also driven by constant Ukrainian shelling attacks on the country’s borderline regions.
"This is not a major issue for our armed forces, this is quite a realistic task given the current personnel crisis in the Ukrainian army, and also the crisis with high-precision and modern equipment and arms they found themselves in following their ‘Kursk Region venture,’" the expert said.
He added that the depth of the buffer zone must correlate with the Ukrainian army’s weapons. "It is in Russia’s interests that Ukraine, as a restive neighbor, does not have the armed forces and special services that might threaten our country’s security following the conflict’s conclusion, and that in the end, Nazism is eradicated in the neighboring country," the expert noted.