When Russia and Israel talk about setting up ‘buffer zones’ what they are really talking about is a land grab

By Iain Farquharson, Lecturer in Global Challenges – Security Pathway Lead, Brunel University London

In the conflicts raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, we have recently seen calls for the establishment of what are being referred to as “buffer zones”.

Russia has proposed setting one up around Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv in the north-east of the country. This, the Kremlin claims, is to protect Russian towns from shelling and missile attacks from Ukrainian territory.

Israel, meanwhile, wants to establish a buffer zone…

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