"The Russian army will try to take full control over eastern and southern Ukraine, Major General Rustam Minnekaev was quoted as saying Friday, a day after Moscow announced the "liberation" of Mariupol," APA reports citing Moscow Times.
"Since the start of the second phase of the special operation... 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," he added, referring to the peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Minnekaev's comments were the most detailed description yet of Russia's goals in the second phase of its operation, which began after its troops pulled back from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
"Control over the south of Ukraine is another way out to Transnistria, where there are cases of Russian-speaking people being oppressed," Minnekaev said.
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