Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, has asserted that Russian troops will go much further into Ukraine.
These remarks, made in an interview with Russian media, echo President Vladimir Putin’s stance on the so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Putin on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, stated that Russian troops would advance into Ukraine to build on their success on the battlefield after the weekend fall of the town of Avdiivka where he said Ukrainian troops were forced to flee in chaos.
“Where should we stop? I don’t know,” Medvedev said.
He added, “We will have to work very hard and very seriously.”
Also, Medvedev alluded to Russia capturing Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
“Will it be Kiev? Yes, it should probably be Kiev as well. If not now then some time later, probably during some other stage of this conflict’s development,” Medvedev said.
The politician presented two arguments for the necessity to get to Kiev, saying that, first, this is a Russian city and, second, the international threat to Russia’s existence comes from there.
“Though Kiev is a Russian city in its roots, it is managed by an international team of Russia’s opponents headed by the United States of America. All that formally perform functions there are figure-heads with neither conscience, nor fear for the future of their country, nor possibilities.
“All decisions are taken across the pond and in the NATO headquarters. This is absolutely obvious. This is why yes, it may be Kiev as well.”
Dmitry Medvedev
Russian troops were beaten back from Kyiv in the first weeks of the full-scale war that Putin launched in February 2022.
They pose no current threat to the Ukrainian capital, though it has frequently come under missile and drone attack.
However, Medvedev’s comments appeared to reflect increasing confidence in Moscow about the course of the conflict even as a major new package of aid for Kyiv has been held up in the U.S. Congress.
Medvedev said that Russia also wanted to take the Black Sea port of Odesa, which it calls Odessa.
“Odessa, come home. We have been waiting for Odessa in the Russian Federation because of the history of this city, what kind of people live there, what language they speak. It is our Russian, Russian city,” Medvedev said.
When asked whether Ukraine should remain an independent state following the special military operation in general, Medvedev remarked that “if as a result of all that is going on something remains of Ukraine, such a state probably has chances to remain, though not very high.”
“I don’t know what will remain in this territorial entity, I cannot call it a country now, maybe the Lemberg region, with a center in the city of Lemberg if the Polish or some other regions undertake for it,” he stated.
“But this is a complicated process, not only military, but also political. And not only military forces, not only the military, but people inhabiting those lands as well should play or say their word in this process,” he concluded.
Negotiations To Be Possible If Changes Are Made
Moreover, Medvedev stressed that Russia did not oppose negotiations with the Kiev administration, but the West has been unable to persuade its proteges to participate in this process.
“We did not refuse negotiations even with this clique, but you know what they did: they forbade these negotiations for themselves, and even the attempts of Western countries to push them in this direction have not yet been successful,” he said.
Negotiations with Ukraine will be possible once people in Kiev understand their obligation to their people.
“The idea is that the elites who currently dominate in Kiev must leave,” Medvedev said.
He stressed that then “completely different people should appear who are aware of their responsibility for the future of the people inhabiting this complex, still existing entity called ‘Ukraine’.”
“When there are such people, we can somehow negotiate with them,” he said.