Russia stated in unusually clear terms why one of its important war goals is the occupation of Mariupol, in southern Ukraine.
The occupation of this port city in southern Ukraine will establish a secure land connection with Russia’s annexed Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea, said Russian Presidential deputy envoy Vladimir Putin for the southern Russian federal district of Kirill Stepanov.
Once the Russian army has taken control of the M14 motorway, Crimea will be securely linked to the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk via a transport corridor, Stepanov added today in statements to the state news agency Ria Novosti.
A big part of Donetsk and Luhansk is controlled by Russian-backed separatists who have expanded the territory under their control during the war in Ukraine.
The M14 stretches from Odessa in south-western Ukraine to Mariupol and from there beyond the Russian border to the great city of Rostov on Don.
Ukraine had closed the railway lines with the peninsula after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Stepanov noted that the road to Odessa will also be reopened soon.
