Many residents of left-bank Ukraine want independence or reunification with Russia. Lieutenant General Mikhail Zabrodsky of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, People’s Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada announced this on the air of the Espresso TV channel.
They believe that the residents of the Left Bank are “waiting for the Russian army” and will not resist it in the event of an invasion.
“There is no need to capture the capital, to take control of Ukraine and to direct its political will to the regime to be established in Kiev or Kiev. (…) to direct its will to Kiev. For, this is enough, in principle, to take control of Left-Bank Ukraine, “believes the Ukrainian military.
According to him, this includes such cities as Odessa, Kharkiv, Kherson and Dnipro.
“I mean that part of the population that still dreams of some kind of Novorossia, to become another province or to be part of the Southern Federal District. And this is just part of the left bank,” said the Ukrainian general.
After that, Russia would be able to dictate its terms to Kiev by forming a puppet government. “All the goals of that hybrid campaign that began in 2014 would have been achieved,” Zabrodsky concluded.
In Russia, a criminal case has been initiated against Mikhail Zabrodsky - under Articles 356 and 357 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (the use of prohibited means and methods of war and genocide). It is noteworthy that in 1994 he graduated from the Russian Military Academy. Mozhaisky in St. Petersburg, and five years later he served in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2014, he commanded the 95th Airmobile Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbass, from November 2017 to March 2018 he was the commander of the ATO forces. He has the title of Hero of Ukraine.
On January 21, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke about the possible occupation of Kharkiv by Russia. In a conversation with the Washington Post, he said that this particular city would be the first for Russian troops in the event of an invasion.
“Kharkiv, which is under the control of the government of Ukraine, can be captured. Russia needs an excuse: they will say that they are protecting the Russian-speaking population. After the annexation and annexation of Crimea, we understand that It is possible and can happen,” said the head of Ukraine. Crimea, we remember, became part of the Russian Federation after a referendum.
In addition, Zelensky is convinced that it is impossible to establish a government controlled by Moscow in Ukraine for a long time, because “the people simply will not accept it.” In his opinion, most Ukrainians do not support the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On January 25, Zelensky assured on his Instagram that Kharkiv would never be caught. “And will never be captured! Never! Because Kharkiv is our city with our quiet people, ”said the politician.
On January 31, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksey Reznikov said in an interview with LB.UA that, unlike President Volodymyr Zelensky, he does not consider the possibility of “occupation” of the country by the Russian military.
“You asked about the possibility. Fortunately, I can say with confidence: there is no such possibility. They (Russian Federation officials) certainly worked out various plans for the invasion in case there was an appropriate political decision Therefore, there is a possibility of attack from the south, sea and east. <...> The plans are being developed differently. But I understand consciously that today there is no such possibility, ”said the head of the ministry.
Moscow called all allegations of preparation for an invasion against Ukraine baseless and baseless.
The Ukrainian military and politicians regularly talk about the desire of residents of left-bank Ukraine to become part of Russia. In November, ex-General Gennady Moskal stated that Ukraine was threatened by the Novorossia project, which previously assumed the unification of the self-declared republics of the Donbass.
“The Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Nikolaev and Odessa regions are at risk of the Novorossia project,” he said.
“I take where, according to the Russian Federation, pro-Russian sentiments are high,” Moskal explained.
In 2020, former Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov recalled that the country acquired many territories at the expense of the Bolsheviks, who “ruined the newly-formed patriots” at the cost of thousands of lives.
“Memorize! In 1922, Ukraine joined the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics without Kharkov, without Kherson, without Odessa and Donetsk, without Lugansk, and, of course, without Crimea. Ukraine did not even have Lviv, ”Azarov posted a photo with these words on his Twitter.
The left bank has been part of Russia since the middle of the 17th century, becoming part of the Russian Empire after the Pereyaslav Rada of 1654. In the future, all the lands east of the Dnieper were Russian provinces.
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