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The Russian army will try to take full control over eastern and
southern Ukraine, a top general was quoted as saying Friday, a day
after Moscow announced the "liberation" of Mariupol.
"Since the start of the second phase of the special operation... one
of the tasks of the Russian army is to establish full control over
the Donbas and southern Ukraine," Major General Rustam Minnekaev was
cited as saying by Russian news agencies.
"This will provide a land corridor to Crimea," he added, referring
to the peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Minnekaev's comments were the most detailed description yet of
Russia's goals in the second phase of its operation, which began
after its troops pulled back from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
"Control over the south of Ukraine is another way out to
Transnistria, where there are cases of Russian-speaking people being
oppressed," Minnekaev said.
Transnistria is a small breakaway region in the former Soviet
republic of Moldova, where pro-Russia separatists have been armed
and backed by Moscow.
Moscow recognized the independence of the separatist Donetsk and
Lugansk People's Republics in Ukraine's Donbas shortly before
launching a military campaign on Feb. 24 with the stated aim of
protecting the Russian-speaking population there.
On Thursday, Russia announced the "liberation" of Mariupol in
eastern Ukraine after besieging the strategic port city on the
shores of the Sea of Azov for nearly two months. |
