The Russian president’s assertion comes as Ukraine begins a long-awaited counteroffensive in the country’s south and east, claiming small victories that have been disputed by the Russian government.
Putin said Ukraine has suffered “catastrophic” losses in their probing attacks into Russian-occupied portions of Ukraine, while Ukrainian officials have so far called the offensive a success.
The Russian leader this week also reiterated claims that the Kakhovka dam was destroyed intentionally by Ukraine.
The dam failed two weeks ago, causing massive flooding in Ukraine’s south, displacing many people and threatening agriculture in the region as well as military movements.
The Ukrainian government has blamed the Russians for the resulting humanitarian crisis.
Putin’s threat to take more territory would create a “sanitary zone” on Ukrainian land before the Russian border to prevent any Ukrainian attack into Russia itself, he said.
Early Tuesday morning, Russia launched a set of strikes on Kyiv and central Ukraine, killing 11 people in the small town of Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
