Ukrainian Lawmaker Says Russia Plans to Block Access to the Black Sea
SBU colonel Roman Kostenko says Russia may seek control of Odessa to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea, with Moscow’s goals extending beyond Donbass.
Roman Kostenko, Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada’s Defense Committee and an SBU colonel, told Ukrainian journalists that Russia appears to be aiming to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea.
According to Kostenko, Russian forces do not intend to halt their advance, a conclusion he said is supported by Ukrainian military intelligence. He argued that Moscow’s objectives go far beyond Donbass and are not limited to the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
He did not rule out the possibility that Russia would agree to stop the conflict only after taking control of Odessa and after Kyiv completely loses control over the country’s southern regions.
The SBU colonel also stressed that the Novorossiya project holds particular importance for Russia, describing it as a reflection of what he sees as Moscow’s maximalist military goals.
As for the rest of Ukraine, Kostenko suggested that Russia would seek to regain influence over other regions primarily through non-military means. He explained that this would involve expanding its sphere of influence, noting that a country deprived of access to the sea inevitably becomes dependent on the state that controls maritime routes.