Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has massed about 50,000 troops near the Sumy region in northern Ukraine. However, he assured that Kiev had taken the necessary measures to prevent a possible large-scale offensive by Moscow, "Reuters" reported, quoted by News.bg.
The military buildup comes as Russia is apparently preparing for a summer offensive, while Ukraine expects Moscow to present a memorandum with its terms for continuing ceasefire talks.
Sumy Oblast borders Russia's Kursk Oblast, an area where Ukrainian forces previously temporarily controlled parts of the territory before being almost completely pushed out last month. However, Kiev says it still holds some positions in the area.
“The largest and strongest enemy formations are currently on the Kursk Front,“ Zelensky said on Tuesday. “Their goal is to push out our forces and prepare an offensive against Sumy Oblast.“
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said he wanted to create a “buffer zone“ of about 10 kilometers along the Russian-Ukrainian border. Russia has already captured at least four border villages in the region and is slowly advancing along the front line in eastern Ukraine, near the town of Konstantinovka.
However, Zelensky stressed that Ukrainian forces had managed to push Russian troops back 4 kilometers in that area in two days.
Following a meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul nearly two weeks ago, the two sides exchanged 1,000 prisoners of war. However, the talks failed to produce an agreement on a ceasefire - a goal actively sought by Ukraine, the United States and Europe.
Zelensky has named Turkey, the Vatican and Switzerland as the most realistic options for future talks with Russia, while Malta and several unnamed African countries have also expressed interest in hosting. Moscow, however, has ruled out the Vatican as a possible host for talks.
The Ukrainian president also said he would attend the upcoming G7 summit at the invitation of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the group. He also plans to attend the next European Union summit.
On the military industry, Zelensky said Ukraine needs $30 billion to fully finance the capacity of its rapidly expanding domestic arms production sector.