Which city is the occupiers’ priority: Russians explain their plans with “historical ties”

Kremlin officials are once again openly speaking about territorial claims to Ukraine, confirming Russia’s unchanging goal of eliminating Ukrainian statehood and seizing Ukrainian lands, as stated in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The military conflict continues, and Putin, during a recent meeting with top officials, again used the terms “Donbas” and “Novorossiya” in an attempt to justify the annexation of the captured regions. Analysts paid particular attention to a statement by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who responded to statements by Odessa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov that the city has its own Ukrainian identity. Peskov emphasized the close connection between Odessa’s history and Russia.

Putin’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, also echoed widespread Russian propaganda, stating that Ukrainians and Russians are “one people” and that regions such as Odesa and Crimea are “ancient Russian lands.”

ISW emphasizes that such statements are not accidental but are part of a Kremlin strategy that actively disseminates propaganda to expand territorial claims. For example, as early as June 20, Putin declared that the Ukrainian and Russian peoples form a single entity and that Ukraine is part of Russia.

In addition, the report notes that Kremlin representatives regularly describe Odessa as a “Russian” city, and also interpret “Novorossiya” as the entire southeastern part of Ukraine. Separately, Medinsky’s words about the territories “on both sides of the Dnieper” are noted, echoing the calls of pro-Russian collaborator Volodymyr Saldo for complete control over the Dnieper within the Kherson, Zaporizhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Experts conclude that the constant emphasis on this rhetoric is evidence of Russia’s unwavering ambitions to destroy independent Ukraine as a state.