Part 5/14:
The deployment includes some of Moscow's elite units, and several Ukrainian-held villages have already fallen to Russian advances. Zelensky warned that Russia's ambitions extend beyond the Sunumi region, with intentions to cross into Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk area, a strategic eastern region that has thus far avoided large-scale conflict. Russia aims to establish a buffer zone—approximately 10 miles wide—to shield its territory from Ukrainian counterattacks. This echoes a plan first floated in 2024 but shelved following Ukrainian incursions into Russian territory.