Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia plans to create a "sanitary zone" on the territory of Ukraine. He said this during a speech at his campaign headquarters the night before. 

"I do not rule out that, given the tragic events taking place, we will be forced at some point to create a sanitary zone in the territories under the control of the Kyiv regime. To create a security zone, which will be quite difficult to overcome with the means of destruction used by the enemy, primarily of foreign production," Putin said when asked by journalists whether Kharkiv region needs to join the Russian Federation to ensure security in Belgorod region.

He commented on the fighting in the Kursk and Belgorod regions on March 13-17 and said that "everyone who fights against Russia with weapons in their hands" will be persecuted.

"During the Great Patriotic War, there was a formation created by the traitor Vlasov - the Vlasovites. They also fought against their homeland with weapons in their hands. How they ended up is well known. Back then, these scum fought on the side of the Nazis, and now there are exactly the same people who are fighting on the side of the neo-Nazis," he said.

He added that all law enforcement agencies would be instructed to "identify all those who is fighting against Russia with weapons," and that those fighting against the Kremlin would always be "treated as if they were in a war zone."

Putin declared his readiness to negotiate peace with Ukraine, but on the Kremlin's terms and "not because the enemy is running out of ammunition." 

Answering a question about a possible conflict between Russia and NATO, he said that "in the modern world, anything is possible, but it will be one step away from World War III."