Vladimir Putin’s military invasion of Ukraine continues unstoppable. The Kremlin has stepped up its attack on the heart of key cities. In addition to surrounding the strategic capital of Kiev (2.8 million inhabitants), on the eighth day of the invasion, the invading forces, which had already taken control of the city of Berdyansk (113,000 inhabitants), on the Sea of Azov, have forcefully entered Kherson (290,000 registered), an important city on the Black Sea, and the harsh siege of the strategic enclave of Mariupol (446,000 people) continues. Russian troops are seeking to pave the way to Mykolaiv, a large city of half a million people already harassed by bombs, and to Odessa, the main Ukrainian port on the Black Sea. This represents an expansion of the offensive that “seeks to close Ukraine by the Black Sea, an area bordered by countries that belong to NATO, such as Turkey, Bulgaria or Moldova,” explains María Sahuquillo, special envoy of EL PAÍS to Ukraine.
Has the Kremlin changed the military offensive given Ukraine’s resistance in the capital, Kiev? What is the Russian Army seeking by controlling the strategic ports in the coastal areas? What does the occupation of cities on the Black Sea, close to NATO member countries?
In this video, two international defense and security experts answer these and other questions about Russia’s military strategy. Félix Arteaga, principal investigator at the Elcano Royal Institute, believes that there is an important element in this new strategy of attack along the coast: the proximity to countries eager for the West, such as Moldova. Pere Vilanova, Professor of Political Science at the University of Barcelona, assures that this war complies with the classic canons of a military occupation that is reminiscent of others: “The Russian leader has been taking all the steps of his unilateralist manual with a series of actions that they bring to mind the Nazi movements prior to the outbreak of World War II.”
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