The Kremlin has just threatened to take over and directly occupy essentially the whole of Ukraine, extending the main theater of war far past the Donbass in the East, in a warning aimed at Washington and NATO as President Biden mulls allowing US weapons for long-range attacks deep inside Russian territory.
The fresh warning was issued by the Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, who is certainly no stranger to issuing boisterous, hugely threatening statements. He told a press briefing with correspondents from TASS that a future permanent buffer zone along Russia's southern border with Ukraine will crucial in staving off cross-border shelling and attacks.
But, he explained, if the West supplies longer range missiles to Kiev and greenlights their use on Russian soil, Russia's military will then expand the proposed buffer zone all the way to Poland. Reuters this week has reported the Biden administration is getting closer to approving the long-range missiles the Zelensky government has been pleading for.
"Obviously, we need to create a buffer zone for the future to ensure that nothing flies in. Its size is anyone’s guess, but it should be sufficient," he began in the Wednesday comments.
Referring to the Ukrainians, Medvedev continued, "If they wish to get long-range means of attack, such as cruise and ballistic missiles, then this buffer zone should stretch as far as Poland."
TASS explains further of the context:
On June 13, at a meeting with frontline correspondents, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia might consider creating a buffer zone on the territory of Ukraine, if bombardments of its regions went on.
Once again Putin mentioned the subject at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 16. He said that Russia would consider creating a "buffer zone" on Ukrainian territory if attacks from their side continued.
In essence Medvedev just described the possibility of establishing Ukraine as a buffer zone against all of NATO, particularly its eastern flank country of Poland, which has embarked on a path of heightened defense spending of late.
In the opening months of the invasion launched in February 2022, Russian troops made it all the way to Kiev in a show of force, but by many accounts it proved a massive logistical challenge - and Russia primarily withdrew to solidify the territories of the Donbass, where the front lines are located now.
Whether Russia could actually successfully occupy the whole of Ukraine is another story, but Medvedev clearly intends to send a message of massive escalation should the White House approve long-range weapons.
Separately, on the same day as these remarks Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov issued the following warning: "The US has already crossed the threshold that they designated for themselves. They are being incited and [Ukrainian President] Zelensky, of course, sees this and uses it. Whoever jokes about our red lines, do not fool with our red lines. They know perfectly well what they are," he was cited in Sputnik as saying.
