On Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will clear out a region of Eastern Ukraine to create a “buffer zone” with the West. The announcement directly followed nearly 500 Ukrainian attack drones being shot down while en route to Russia and the Russian President’s helicopter nearly being shot down May 20. While Russia has been regaining control over vast amounts of land throughout April and May, the latest military actions have stirred stark criticism by President Donald Trump. Some have said this may be a ploy by his advisors to escalate the war.
“Today’s events only confirm what I have just said: during drone raids, the actions of sabotage and reconnaissance groups, civilian vehicles are hunted, including ambulances, agricultural machinery. Both women and children are dying and injured,” Putin said Thursday. “I have already said that it was decided to create the necessary buffer security zone along the borders. Our Armed Forces are now solving this task. Enemy firing points are actively suppressed, work is underway. At the same time, I again draw attention to the fact that already now, naturally, taking into account the situation in Kursk, Belgorod, Bryansk regions, it is necessary to work to restore and rebuild everything destroyed. To help people return to their native settlements, villages, where security conditions allow, to restore all transport and other infrastructure, sustainable operation of industrial and agricultural enterprises, to support entrepreneurs and their teams.”
The Russian head of state began his statement by explaining how the Ukrainian drone attacks targeted civilians. Infowars previously reported on Ukrainian drone attacks which targeted sleeping Russians in their apartments as well as an attack against a steel-frame high-rise which looked reminiscent of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks in the U.S.
“Russian air defenses have brought down a total of 485 Ukrainian drones across the country over the past 48 hours, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has stated,” RT said Thursday. “In a post on its Telegram channel on Thursday, it said that the massive air raid started on Tuesday evening, with Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk regions, which all share a border with Ukraine, bearing the brunt of the attack.”
Moscow, Russia’s capital, was also targeted in the drone attack.
“According to the Russian Defense Ministry, air defenses downed 485 Ukrainian drones over Russia’s constituencies between 8 p.m. Moscow time (5 p.m. GMT) on May 20 and 8 a.m. Moscow time (5 a.m. GMT) on May 22, including 63 over the Moscow Region,” TASS (The Russian News Agency) said Thursday.
Two days prior to the massive Ukrainian drone attack against Russia, Kiev attempted to shoot down Putin’s helicopter during a trip the head of state took to the Kursk Region of Russia, which was occupied by Ukraine from August to April.
“[Helicopter of Russian President] was virtually at the epicenter of repelling a large-scale attack by the enemy’s drones. <…> The intensity of the attack during the flight of the aircraft with the Commander-in-Chief over the territory of the Kursk Region increased significantly. Therefore, we simultaneously conducted an air defense battle and ensured the safety of the presidential helicopter’s flight in the air,” Russian air defense division commander Yuri Dashkin said in an interview broadcast by the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
Notably, Russia’s new offensive is not particularly new, as the Kremlin has been steadily gaining ground throughout April and May, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry.
On Sunday evening President Donald Trump issued a statement on his social media site calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “crazy” for continuing the war against Ukraine. Trump has worked tirelessly to bring Moscow and Kiev together for peace talks, something both countries appeared to be interested in until the latest Russian offensive.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump said. “He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever. I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia! Likewise, President Zelenskyy is doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop. This is a War that would never have started if I were President. This is Zelenskyy’s, Putin’s, and Biden’s War, not ‘Trump’s,’ I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires, that have been started through Gross Incompetence and Hatred.”
On Tuesday Trump issued a statement telling Russian President Vladimir Putin to be thankful for the actions of the new administration in Washington.
“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,” Trump said Tuesday. “He’s playing with fire!”
Geopolitical pundit Andrew Korybko said that Trump’s quick change of rhetoric on Russia may be due to his advisors.
“Trump is either being maliciously misinformed about the conflict from his trusted advisors (not counting Witkoff of course) or that he’s manipulatively creating the pretext for U.S. escalation,” Korybko said Tuesday.