Russia seeks complete control of the eastern Donbas region and southern Ukraine to build a land bridge to the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow. According to the Russian news agency Interfax, a senior Russian general said this on Friday.
“Since the beginning of the second phase of the special military operation, which began two days ago, one of the objectives of the Russian army has been to take complete control of Donbas and the south of Ukraine,” said General Rustam Minnekayev, acting commander of the Central Military District of the Russian Army.
“That will provide a land bridge to Crimea and put pressure on the vital infrastructure of the Ukrainian economy, namely the two Black Sea ports, where products for agriculture and metallurgy are supplied.”
Minnekayev made his statements during a meeting with companies from the Russian military-industrial complex in the city of Yekaterinburg, the administrative centre of the Ural Federal District. So far, no one from the military leadership has made such a concrete statement about the aims of the war.
His words seem to confirm that Russia also wants to conquer Odessa, the great Ukrainian port and the country’s second-largest city.
According to Minnekaev, control of southern Ukraine should also help pro-Russian separatists in Transnistria. They have controlled the Moldavian region, which borders western Ukraine, since 1992. There is already a Russian military garrison.
The government in Kyiv fears that the Russian army may launch a new offensive from Transnistria. Ukraine said earlier this month that an airport in Transnistria is being prepared for the flight of Russian soldiers; but both Transnistria and Moldavia deny this.
According to the United Nations, Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, where more than 400,000 Ukrainians have sought refuge, wants to become a candidate for membership in the European Union, just like Ukraine. Ukraine recently submitted a necessary questionnaire to Brussels, the first step in a very long procedure. Moldova has now done so and handed over the document to the EU ambassador in the country on Friday.
