Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmytro Medvedev is once again dreaming of the cities he hopes Russia will capture in Ukraine following Moscow’s latest front-line victories, arguing that Odesa’s port must “come home.”

“I can say simply about Odesa: Odesa, come home! And that’s all. I was waiting for Odesa in the Russian Federation, including because of the history of this city, the people who live there, what language they speak. This is our Russian, Russian city,” he said in an interview with Russian publications, including the TASS agency, on Thursday.

He also noted that the “Kyiv clique” is short-sighted in its actions regarding the dismantling of monuments and the “destruction of other Russian cultural heritage” in Odesa.

“So it just alienates some of the people, even those who were loyal to their government until recently. Well, in general, it looks terrible, because it is about opposing the entire Russian culture and our common path,” he said, since the Odesa authorities removed the monument to Empress Catherine II of Russia from the territory back in December 2022. city.

Better known as Catherine the Great, she has a controversial reputation in Ukraine as she promoted Russian imperialism and abolished two autonomous Ukrainian entities. The city of Odesa, Ukraine’s largest port, is of particular importance to Russians for several reasons, including the fact that it was the scene of a fierce struggle for control during World War II, the “Great Patriotic War,” as Russia calls it.

Dmytro Medvedev again spoke about the conquest of Kyiv

Also on Thursday, Medvedev said Russian troops may be “necessary” to reach Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, to achieve the goals of what Moscow calls a “special military operation.” He also stated that Russians and Ukrainians are one people and that the Ukrainian government “must fall.”

His new comments came after Russian forces managed to capture the town of Avdiyivka last week after nearly six months of fighting, and Maryinka, another city in Donetsk region that saw fierce fighting, in late December.

These high-cost Russian military and equipment victories came after a long-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive failed last summer.

In January, Medvedev, the former president and prime minister of Russia, admitted that Moscow would never allow Ukraine to be a free country and that the reason for attacking it would be found in 10 or 50 years.

Russian official says Ukrainians will choose to live “in one big common state” with Russians

“The existence of Ukraine is fatal for Ukrainians. And I mean not only the current state, the Bandera political regime. I’m talking about everything, absolutely everything about Ukraine. why the existence of an independent state on the historical Russian territories will now be a constant reason for the resumption of hostilities,” he wrote in a message published on his Telegram channel.

“It is too late. Whoever is at the helm of the new cancerous entity called Ukraine will not add legitimacy to its governance and the legal status of the “country” itself. The probability of a new conflict will remain infinite. Practically always. Moreover, there is a 100% probability of a new conflict, which “The West did not sign security documents with the puppet regime in Kyiv. Neither the association of Ukraine with the EU nor even the accession of this artificial country to NATO will stop this (conflict – no). This may happen in 10 or 50 years,” he wrote.

He also stated that Ukrainians, “no matter how much I now wish death to the Russians” and “no matter how much they hate the Russian leadership”, one day they will choose to live in a “great common state” and not fight endlessly and die. .

“The sooner Ukrainians realize this, the better,” Dmytro Medvedev concluded.

Follow the latest events of the 729th day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.