Putin says Russia wants buffer zone in Ukraine's Kharkiv but has no plans to capture the city

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Moscow's offensive in Ukraine's Kharkiv region aims to create a buffer zone but has no plans to capture the city. Speaking to reporters Friday on a visit to Harbin, China, Putin said that Moscow launched attacks in the Kharkiv region in response to the Ukrainian shelling of Russia's Belgorod region.

I have said publicly that if it continues we will be forced to create a security zone, a sanitary zone, he said. Putin said that Russian troops were advancing daily in according to plan.

He added that Russia has no plans to capture Kharkiv for now.