Russia set on creating ‘buffer zone’ in Ukraine – Putin

Russians Change Tactics in Ukraine - Now Far More Devastating

The Ukrainian military has recorded a noticeable increase in the Russian presence in the air, both at the front and deep in Ukrainian positions.

According to reports from fighters on the contact line, the tactics of the Russian Armed Forces are clearly systematic:

• massive use of strike and reconnaissance UAVs,

• a transition to swarms of drones,

• as well as an increasingly frequent use of fiber-optic FPV drones, which are insensitive to electronic warfare systems.

Before each assault, the Russian army launches reconnaissance drones, followed by strikes with high-precision aerial bombs and artillery. And only then do drones with warheads go into battle, operating in the near zone - until the positions are cleared by assault groups.

Such a gradual build-up of strike power has sharply reduced the Ukrainian Armed Forces' ability to repel attacks in the tactical depth of defense.

The systematic nature of the hunt for Ukrainian drone operators is particularly amazing. Russian reconnaissance aircraft identify command posts and carry out pinpoint strikes on them — with artillery, KABs, or the same FPV drones. The time spent by Ukrainian crews at launch sites is rapidly decreasing, which reduces the effectiveness of Ukrainian UAVs.

At the same time, more and more Russian-assembled UAVs are appearing on the battlefield — with factory-made bodies and non-standard form factors. Their filling still contains Chinese components, but the design itself demonstrates a transition to industrial production.

According to the Ukrainian military, the Russian Federation is not only increasing the pace of assembly, but is also moving to the coordinated use of drones of different types and purposes in one combat scenario.

The nature of the use of the Shaheds is also changing. If attacks were previously single and linear, now the drones operate in a swarm, at high altitudes, and then dive at the target synchronously. Such maneuvers significantly reduce the effectiveness of Ukrainian air defense systems.

All this suggests that Russia has reached a new level of integrating UAVs into tactical and operational actions. In the context of the depletion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reserves in a number of areas, this could become a determining factor in the dynamics of the front line.

This new type of warfare, developed during active combat, has changed the nature of battlefields forever.

Ukraine Military Officer Warns "Collapse of the Front"

A Ukrainian military officer has revealed precisely what he told his superiors, in writing, this week:

• "There is coming a collapse of the front and a collapse of the Pokrovsk Defense.

  • The situation here (and not only here) is critical for the Ukrainian Army, as I have reported repeatedly in recent weeks.

  • Especially in Drone matters, the Russians have caught up dramatically, if not even overtaken the Ukrainian Defenders.

  • Hundreds of Fiber Optic Drones are deployed every day. There is almost no defense against them.

  • As a result, Ukraine is losing far more vehicles than it can replace. This makes Logistics almost impossible.

  • In addition, new Russian Infantrymen are constantly arriving and, for the past month, numerous Russian Armored Vehicles have also been advancing alongside civilian vehicles.

  • The failure of his Western Partners has meant that Zelensky would now accept any compromise.

  • However, since this same failure also means that the Russian Army has no reason whatsoever to rely on negotiations, the situation will continue to deteriorate."

Hal Turner ANALYSIS

That's the situation across the ENTIRE Ukraine conflict front as of May 22, 2025.

There is no hope -- at all -- for Ukraine. None.

The collective West simply does not have enough weapons inventory or logistics support capacity, to change this, without completely depleting the West's own self defense abilities.

The Ukrainian Army simply does not have enough men to even persist, never mind prevail.

Ukraine has, in fact, LOST this conflict.

There is nothing that the West can do to change this, short of direct NATO entry as a Party to the conflict, which would cause nuclear World War 3.

Unless Ukraine agrees to ALL of Russia's terms, the Russian Army will likely continue to advance, leaving little or nothing at all, of Ukraine.

Failure to agree to Russia's terms might literally mean Ukraine no longer exists.

Those are the facts. They are not in dispute.

Russia set on creating ‘buffer zone’ in Ukraine – Putin

Russian forces have been building a security buffer along the country’s border, Vladimir Putin has said

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with the members of the country's government via a video link on May 22, 2025. © Sputnik / Aleksandr Kazakov

The Russian military has been tasked with creating a “security buffer zone” along the border with Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

The president made the remarks during a government meeting dedicated to the situation in Russia’s border regions, including Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk. Additional measures to support their residents were also discussed.

“It has been decided to create the necessary security buffer zone along the border. Our armed forces are actively solving this task now. The enemy’s firing positions are suppressed, the work is going on,” Putin stated.

The idea to create “a certain cordon sanitaire” in Ukrainian-controlled territory along the border was first floated by Putin last March. The president said Moscow could ultimately be “forced” to create such a zone in order to protect civilians in the border regions from Ukrainian long-range strikes. Russian troops would create a “security zone that would be quite difficult for the adversary to overcome with its weapons, primarily of foreign origin,” if and “when we consider it appropriate,” Putin stated at the time.

READ MORE: Ukrainian shelling injures civilians in Russian border region – acting governor

Putin’s announcement comes in the wake of an indiscriminate Ukrainian strike on the Kursk town of Lgov that left at least 12 civilians wounded, including two children. According to interim Kursk Governor Aleksandr Khinshtein, the attack targeted an area near the Kursk-Rylsk highway where the route enters the town. Media reports indicated the strike involved at least three projectiles fired by a US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launcher.

Over the past two days, Kiev conducted a massive long-range drone attack even deeper into Russia. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a total of 485 Ukrainian fixed-wing UAVs were downed across the country in the past 48 hours. At least 63 of the drones were intercepted in Moscow Region, while the largest number were stopped over Orel Region, the military said.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20250522/why-russia-wants-buffer-zone-along-ukraine-border-1122113142.html