Russia wants to take control of Odessa. After that, the enemy plans to advance to the border with Romania and Moldova.
This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the Ukraine – Southeastern Europe summit held in Odessa.
The head of state emphasized that Odessa is a target for Russia.
“Russia wants to destroy it, just like it has done with countless cities and villages in the occupied territories. Russian military plans point to this region — Odessa — and then to the border with Moldova and Romania,” he added.
At the same time, Zelensky stressed that Odessa region is “one of Russia’s main targets” for provoking chaos.
“We have seen this before in the Balkans, where Russia intensified interethnic tensions, carried out sabotage, and even attempted coups,” he explained.
The president recalled that there have already been attempts to manipulate public opinion in Romania involving Russia.
Zelensky did not specify the details. However, it is worth noting that earlier Romanian politician Diana Iovanovici-Șoșoacă wrote letters to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin demanding the “return of Northern Bukovina” (part of Chernivtsi region) and Southern Bessarabia (part of Odessa region) to Romania.
Earlier, Deputy Head of the President’s Office Pavlo Palisa emphasized that Russia wants to occupy all Ukrainian territory east of the Dnipro River.
Palisa also said that the occupiers plan to capture Odessa and Mykolaiv to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea.
