Russia wants to seize Odesa and reach Moldova-Romania border - Zelenskyy
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Russia wants to take control of Odesa. After that, the enemy plans to reach the border with Romania and Moldova, stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the Ukraine–Southeast Europe Summit held in Odesa.
The head of the Ukrainian state emphasized that Odesa is a target for Russia.
"Russia wants to destroy it, just as it has done with countless towns and villages in the occupied territories. Russian military plans point to this region - Odesa - and then to the border with Moldova and Romania," he added.
At the same time, Zelenskyy emphasized that the Odesa region is "one of Russia's main targets" for provoking chaos.
"We've seen this before in the Balkans, where Russia fueled interethnic tensions, carried out sabotage operations, and even attempted coups," he noted.
The President recalled that there have already been attempts to manipulate public opinion in Romania involving Russia.
Zelenskyy did not specify the details. However, it's worth noting that Romanian politician Diana Iovanovici-Șoșoacă had previously sent letters to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, calling for the return of Northern Bukovyna (part of Ukraine's Chernivtsi region) and Southern Bessarabia (part of the Odesa region) to Romania.
Russia's plans
Earlier, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa emphasized that Russia wants to occupy all Ukrainian territory east of the Dnipro River.
According to Palisa, Russia also plans to capture Odesa and Mykolaiv to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea.
