Vladimir Putin has revived a controversial narrative, claiming that theoretically “all of Ukraine is ours.” He also sparked more immediate concerns with comments about seizing Ukraine’s city of Sumy.

Vladimir Putin has declared that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people” and that, in that sense, “all of Ukraine is ours.”

The assertion underscores Moscow’s continued underlying rejection of Ukrainian sovereignty and raises renewed alarm over Russia’s territorial ambitions.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Putin issued a series of provocative remarks, notably stating: “We have a saying… where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours.”