Russian army prepares to enter Kyiv and Odesa, Medvedev announced new phase of invasion in Ukraine

Russia needs to create a protective cordon that will shield from any intrusions into its lands, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said. “We must safeguard our interests in full,“ the politician said in his interview with the Russian media. Medvedev explained that this means two things. “Firstly, to accomplish the objectives of the special military operation which the president named. Secondly, to create the necessary protective cordon which will secure against any encroachments on our lands: not only shelling attacks, but also active offensive operations,“ Medvedev said. Medvedev has claimed that in order to “achieve the goals of the special military operation, Russian forces will have to march on Kyiv again, “if not now, then at some point“, and that Russia has “long desired the city of Odesa“. “Where should we stop? I don't know. I guess, given what I said, we still have to work hard and focus. Will it be Kyiv? Yes, it should probably be Kyiv. If not now, then at some point; perhaps in some other phase of this conflict “ Medvedev claimed that there are two reasons for this. The first is that Kyiv is supposedly a “Russian city“, and the second is that it allegedly “poses an international threat to the existence of the Russian Federation“, as Kyiv is supposedly “run by an international brigade of Russia's opponents led by the United States of America“. “So yes, it may be Kyiv,“ Medvedev speculated. He also added that “Odesa has long been desired in the Russian Federation“. “Odesa, come back home. We have long desired Odesa in the Russian Federation. Even by virtue of the history of this city, the kind of people who live there, the language they speak, it is our Russian city.“ He called the behavior of the Kyiv clique in demolishing monuments and destroying other Russian cultural heritage in Odessa short-sighted. “In this way, they simply alienate some of the people, even those who were loyal to their government until recently. Well, in general, this looks monstrous, because we are talking about opposition to the entire Russian culture and our common path,” noted Medvedev.