Russia’s Top General Says Putin Ordered 2026 Buffer Zone Expansion in Ukraine

Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov made the announcement as Russia seeks to assert battleground superiority amid ongoing peace negotiations.

Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov in Moscow on April 19, 2025. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via Reuters

Moscow’s top general announced on Dec. 31 that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered troops to expand a region the Kremlin calls the “security zone” in Ukraine in 2026.

Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said the areas in question are the Ukrainian regions of Sumy and Kharkiv near the Russian border.