Ukraine will not allow its territory to be turned into a buffer zone, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the country’s independence day, in an apparent reference to the Russian invasion.
The Ukrainians would pay back the aggressor with interest, he said, warning that those seeking a Ukrainian buffer zone must ensure that their own country does not become a “buffer federation.” Ukrainian troops have captured much of the Russian Federation in the Kursk region.
According to Ukrainian authorities, Zelensky’s address was registered in the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine, from where the Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk region was launched.
Zelensky avoided mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin by name, saying: “The sick old man on Red Square, who constantly threatens with his red button, will not impose red lines on us.”
Moscow justified the invasion of Ukraine by arguing that it could not accept any Ukrainian membership in NATO, as this would endanger Russian national security.
