Putin says Russia aims to set up buffer zone inside Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks on a visit to his campaign headquarters after the presidential election in Moscow, Russia, early on Monday (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed that Moscow will not relent in its invasion of Ukraine and plans to create a buffer zone to help protect against long-range Ukrainian strikes and cross-border raids.

The Kremlin’s forces have made battlefield progress as Kyiv’s troops struggle with a severe shortage of artillery shells and exhausted frontline units after more than two years of war.