Putin General: Russia To Snatch Moldova After Splitting Ukraine

Russian military commander Rustam Minnekaev says the second phase of President Vladimir Putin’s “special operation” is focused on establishing a “land corridor” from the Donbas all the way to Moldova, which would cut off the rest of Ukraine from the sea, Barbie Latza Nadeau reported for Daily Beast.

Photo Insert: Kyiv earlier this month said that an airfield in a separatist region in Moldova was being prepared to receive aircraft and be used by Moscow to fly in Ukraine-bound troops.

“One of the tasks of the Russian army is to establish full control over the Donbas and southern Ukraine. This will provide a land corridor to Crimea, as well as influence the vital objects of the Ukrainian economy,” Minnekaev said Friday at a meeting with the Union of Defense Industries, as reported by the Russian state-owned Interfax.

“Control over the south of Ukraine is another way out to Transnistria, where there are also facts of oppression of the Russian-speaking population.”

Transnistria is a separatist region of Moldova that has so far not been officially involved in the war despite hosting a Russian military base since the 1990s.

The general’s words suggest that Moldova’s sovereign borders would also come under threat from further Russian expansion.

Phony efforts to protect Russian-speaking peoples have often foreshadowed Putin’s imperial invasions. In reality, thousands of Russian speakers have been killed in eastern Ukraine by Russian troops during the brutal invasion.

If successful, the strategy would include taking the port of the former seaside resort town of Odesa near the Moldovan border, which has suffered sporadic bombardments but no full-fledged invasion so far. Russia’s warship Moskva was hit about 75 miles off the coast of Odesa two weeks ago, before it sank en route to Crimea.

Minnekayev’s statement is one of the most detailed about Moscow's latest ambitions in Ukraine and suggests Russia does not plan to wind down its offensive there anytime soon, Reuters reported.

Kyiv earlier this month said that an airfield in a separatist region in Moldova was being prepared to receive aircraft and be used by Moscow to fly in Ukraine-bound troops, allegations Moldova's defense ministry and authorities in Transdniestria denied.

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