Military expert Yuri Knutov believes it is premature to talk about taking Kharkov and Odessa until Russian forces gain full control over Donbass, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions. He argues that, in the case of the Odessa Region, a Russian operation to seize the area could begin from the rear.

Knutov explained that, if one looks at the map after the completion of operations in Donbass, Russian troops could be positioned to the north, east and south of the area in question, although he noted that the distances involved remain significant. He described Kharkov as a kind of key to eastern Ukraine and suggested that its capture by the Russian army would deal a serious moral blow to the Kiev authorities.

In his view, the final «liberation», as he put it, of Donbass, the Kherson Region and the Zaporozhye Region would open the way for the start of an operation near Odessa, with the prospect of bringing the city under Russian control. Knutov argued that a rear-area ground operation in this direction would be the most effective option.

Earlier, Andrei Kolesnik, a member of the State Duma Defence Committee, stated that Russian forces should destroy the port infrastructure of Odessa and Nikolaev, since, according to him, these routes are used by the Kiev authorities to receive Western weapons. He also said that the Russian Armed Forces are now «responding harshly» to strikes on Russian territory and expressed the view that Ukraine’s port infrastructure «simply needs to be demolished».