The Kremlin has set its sights on more than just the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, with territorial ambitions now reaching further into regions bordering the Black Sea, including Odesa. According to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian officials have openly stated that the war in Ukraine must end with Russia’s “victory” and the “destruction” of the current Ukrainian government.
The statements were made by Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, and Nikolai Patrushev, an aide to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Medvedev emphasised that the war’s end should culminate in the fall of Ukraine’s government, while Patrushev pointedly declared Russia’s claims to Odesa, marking it as a city that should belong to Russia. These comments echo Putin’s 2023 declaration that Ukrainians in the Black Sea region have “nothing to do with Ukraine” and that Odesa should be considered a “Russian city.” The statements reflect a broader, long-standing ambition within the Kremlin for a regime change in Ukraine, with the goal of eventually establishing a pro-Russian puppet government.
Further emphasising these territorial ambitions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on April 14, 2025, claimed that the Ukrainian government no longer represented the people of Odesa and other Ukrainian territories. Analysts believe that these statements are part of the Kremlin’s larger strategy to potentially expand its control in Ukraine once the government falls.
In recent developments, Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov suggested that the war would come to an “instant” end if Ukraine withdrew its forces from the territories Russia currently occupies, including Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia.
