Why Odesa is sacred city for Putin, according to Ukrainian MP

 

AP

Ukraine says its troops in have succeeded in stopping a Russian advance on the port city of Odesa.

However, Russian naval forces started shelling the outskirts of the port on Monday, as part of efforts to cut Ukrainians off from the Black Sea.

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko - who is currently in Kyiv - spoke to the BBC about the

situation in Odesa, the city he represents.

Vladimir Putin sees Odesa as one of Ukraine’s sacred cities, he says, and it is being attacked because it is the biggest city on the Black Sea.

The last time Odesa was bombed it was by the Nazis 80 years ago, and Putin is a “Hitler of the 21st Century,” Goncharenko told the BBC.

BBC

The MP does not believe that Putin is ready for peace negotiations at present, and says he will not stop, or have real negotiations, unless he realises he cannot do anything to Ukraine.

There should be more international sanctions on Russia so Putin cannot afford the war, Goncharenko says.

He adds that Ukraine needs to be supplied with more weapons – not just air defence systems but aircraft, because Russia currently has an advantage in the air.

Source: BBC