The minister noted that the occupiers have no chance of approaching Odesa from the sea.
The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, commented on the potential risks for the southern regions of Ukraine in the event of a possible large-scale attack by Russia. He emphasized that in order for there to be a risk of occupation of Odesa, the enemy needs to have dominion in the Black Sea, and Ukraine has deprived the Russian Federation of such an opportunity.
“I really don’t like making forecasts and evaluative judgments, but in order for there to be a risk of capturing Odesa and the region as a whole, Russia needs to have dominion over the Black Sea. But we deprived them of this opportunity. Including after the successful use of our Ukrainian weapons.” Neptunov”, when the cruiser “Moskva” went to the bottom at a known address. Plus, the anti-ship complexes “Harpoon” are in service, so I don’t see any chance for them to approach Odessa from the sea,” he said during a press conference in Odessa .
The Minister of Defense added that the occupiers failed to approach by land last time. Currently, thanks to the courageous defenders of Ukraine, the invaders have been pushed back to the left bank of the Dnieper, which, with its destroyed bridges and crossings, is a powerful natural protective barrier.
“As for the left-bank territories of the south of Ukraine, there the enemy group has the opportunity to replenish both weapons and equipment, and people, therefore, of course, the situation there is more tense,” Reznikov emphasized.
War in Ukraine: current news
The heroic defense of Bakhmut of the Donetsk region has been going on for several months now. Ukrainian and Russian soldiers conduct artillery duels. In addition, there are shooting battles at very short distances.
Russian occupiers continue to attack the positions of Ukrainian defenders in Donetsk region. In just three days of the offensive near Vugledar and Avdiivka, the Russian invaders lost at least 103 units of military equipment. Among the losses were 36 battle tanks.
In addition, the Russian occupiers began to use naval surface drones. This fact was indirectly confirmed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhnyi in a conversation with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.