The Kremlin has larger territorial ambitions than just the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. In particular, Russia is claiming territories bordering the Black Sea. This is stated in the material of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), reports UNN.
Details
Analysts refer to the words of Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, who stated that the war in Ukraine should end with Russia's "victory" and the "destruction" of the current Ukrainian government, and to the interview of Russian dictator Putin's aide Nikolai Patrushev, in which he stated Russia's claims to Odessa.
These statements are a reference to Putin's 2023 statement that Ukrainians living in the Black Sea region have "nothing to do with Ukraine" and that Odessa is a "Russian city," and continue the statement of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of April 14, 2025, that the Ukrainian government "does not represent" the residents of the city of Odessa and other Ukrainian territories.
Analysts claim that in their statements Medvedev and Patrushev refer to the Kremlin's long-standing demands for regime change in Ukraine with the establishment of a pro-Russian puppet government that could "support the Kremlin's goal of occupying more territory in Ukraine at a later time of the Kremlin's choosing."
Let us remind you
The other day, Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that the war in Ukraine would end "instantly" if Kyiv withdrew its troops from the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.