Russia plans to seize Donbas, southern Ukraine: Military official

Russia plans to seize the Donbas region and southern Ukraine, a military official said, explaining the latter move was a “way to Transnistria“, the Russia-backed breakaway region in Moldova.

Rustam Minnekaev, deputy commander of Russia’s central military district, made the announcement on Friday at a meeting in Sverdlovsk, according to Russian media.

He said capturing Donbas would enable Moscow to forge a land bridge between the Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula it annexed in 2014, and the eastern region.

“Control over the south of Ukraine is another way to Transnistria, where there is also evidence that the Russian-speaking population is being oppressed,” Minnekaev said, without providing details of the alleged oppression.