Putin Ramping Up Troops on Border for New Attack: Zelensky

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Russian President Vladimir Putin is building up troops by Moscow’s border with Ukraine ahead of a move to push into the northeastern Sumy region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday morning.

Zelensky has rejected Putin’s claims that Kyiv’s troops in Russia’s Kursk region were encircled by Russian forces but did warn of what Moscow might do in the Ukrainian region just over the border.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.

Why It Matters

Neither Russia nor Ukraine wants to show signs of weakness as negotiations continue on a potential 30-day ceasefire the United States is attempting to broker. Both want to maximize their negotiating positions before full peace talks take place.

Russia has made advances since the middle of last year and Ukraine has faced political setbacks with the U.S. under President Donald Trump, who wants to end the war quickly and has shown a willingness to work with Putin, despite concerns from European allies and Kyiv.

Ukraine, which relies on American military aid for its defense against Russia’s invasion that began in February 2022, fears Trump will force it to make painful compromises with Putin without guaranteeing its future security from what it sees as an existential threat posed by Moscow.

What To Know

Pro-Russian military bloggers (milbloggers) are among analysts who have disputed Putin’s claims about Ukrainian troops surrounded in Kursk where they staged an incursion in August 2024.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, said in its Friday assessment that this shows Moscow is fabricating claims to influence the political and informational scene. However, milbloggers may alter their reporting to mirror Putin’s claims in the coming days.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday, Zelensky said his Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi had given him an update on frontline areas in Donetsk and others.

Zelensky said the situation had been “stabilized” in Pokrovsk, a strategic location which Russia has fought fiercely to capture at a high cost in troops and equipment.

The Ukrainian president tried to ease concerns about fortunes in Kursk following reports that his troops were on the backfoot in the Russian region.

Many Russian troops had withdrawn and that Kyiv’s forces were continuing to hold back Putin’s troops, which include groupings from North Korea, he said.

Ukraine and South Korea said in December that Pyongyang had deployed an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 servicemen to southern Russia to fight Ukrainian forces. Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has confirmed the deployment.

But Zelensky rejected reports of encirclement but warned Russian troops were building up by the eastern border of Ukraine which showed Putin’s intention to attack Sumy Oblast, on the side of the frontier.

Zelensky added in his X post that Kyiv’s allies must understand what Putin is planning and that he will ignore diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Eitvydas Bajarūnas, visiting fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), told Newsweek the ceasefire proposal does not yet achieve Putin’s long-term goal of controlling all of Ukraine, but Russia’s struggling economy and military fatigue might make a short pause useful to the Kremlin.

A key factor may be China, Russia’s main trading ally, which if it supports the U.S. ceasefire proposal, may put pressure on Putin to comply, Bajarūnas added.

What People Are Saying

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X on Saturday: “We are also observing directions along our eastern border of Ukraine, where the Russian army is building up forces. This indicates an intention to attack our Sumy region. We are aware of this and will counter it. I would like all partners to understand exactly what Putin is planning, what he is preparing for, and what he will be ignoring.”

Elena Davlikanova, democracy fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), told Newsweek on Saturday: “Ukraine looks beyond a ceasefire and understands that what’s at play is sovereignty, not territory. The real fight will continue since Russia’s hybrid war will not stop and its strategic aims remain unchanged.”

What Happens Next?

As talk continues that Putin intends to continue the war, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said during a virtual summit of Ukraine allies on Saturday that “coalition of the willing” was moving towards a plan to keep military aid flowing to Ukraine and maintain sanctions on Russia to force it to the table.