RUSSIAN forces have taken control of four border villages in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, a local official reported Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
The advance came days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an order for troops to establish a buffer zone along the border.
Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy regional military administration, said that Russian forces are attempting to push deeper into the region after capturing the villages.
He added that Ukrainian forces are working to hold their positions and that residents of the affected villages had been evacuated earlier, posing no immediate threat to civilians.
Sumy borders Russia’s Kursk region, an area vulnerable to Ukrainian incursions. Putin has said creating a buffer zone could help prevent further cross-border attacks.
Last year, a surprise Ukrainian incursion in Kursk captured a pocket of land, marking the first occupation of Russian territory since World War II.
Putin visited the Kursk region last week, his first visit since Moscow claimed last month it had driven Ukrainian forces out of the area they captured in August of the previous year, a claim Kyiv officials have denied.
A year ago, Putin said a Russian offensive aimed to create a buffer zone in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region to protect Russia’s Belgorod border region from frequent Ukrainian attacks.
Draft peace memo
Meanwhile, Moscow is preparing to send a draft peace memorandum to Kyiv outlining key principles for a potential settlement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Tuesday.
“Russia continues to work on a draft memorandum regarding a future peace treaty, which will outline a number of positions, including the principles of a settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement, a potential ceasefire,” Zakharova said at her weekly press briefing.
She indicated that once completed, the memorandum would be sent to Kyiv, and Russia expects Ukraine to prepare its own draft in response.
This development follows a telephone call last week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States (US) President Donald Trump, during which they agreed Russia would prepare a draft memorandum.
However, US special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Putin has not yet delivered the promised document. Moscow’s invasion has continued despite months of US-led efforts to secure a ceasefire and advance peace talks.
Negotiations have seen little progress. Since Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Turkey on May 16 for their first direct talks in three years, a large prisoner exchange has been the only tangible outcome.
Kellogg mentioned that the Kremlin has ruled out the Vatican as a venue for negotiations.
“We would have liked to have it at the Vatican and we were pretty set to do something like that, but the Russians didn’t want to go there … so I think Geneva may be the next stop,” Kellogg told the Fox News Channel.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also said his country was ready to host another round of peace talks.
The diplomatic moves occur amidst fluctuating military actions. A Russian bombing campaign that had escalated in recent days slowed overnight, with fewer Russian drones targeting Ukrainian towns and cities. Between Friday and Sunday, Russia launched about 900 drones in Ukraine. On Sunday night, Russia conducted its largest drone attack of the three-year-old war, firing 355 drones. From Monday to Tuesday, Russia fired 60 drones at Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian air force. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its defenses downed 99 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions.
Frustrated Trump
US President Donald Trump has voiced increasing frustration with Putin. On Tuesday, Trump said in a Truth Social post that Putin was “playing with fire” by not engaging in ceasefire talks and as Russian forces made gains.
“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened in Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, without elaborating.
This followed a post on Sunday where Trump said Putin had “gone absolutely CRAZY” by unleashing the massive aerial attack.
The Kremlin initially reacted sharply to Trump’s “crazy” comment, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticizing ”emotional reactions.” However, Peskov later adopted a milder tone, hailing US peace efforts and saying that “the Americans and President Trump have taken a quite balanced approach.” Top Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Trump’s “playing with fire” criticism.
Putin had said after his call with Trump that Russia was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum about a future peace accord, including defining a possible ceasefire and
its timeframe.
The Kremlin has stated it could not estimate how long drafting the memorandum would take and said on Tuesday it was still working on it. Kyiv and European governments have accused Moscow of stalling while it advances on the battlefield. / FROM THE WIRES