Joint Forces Commander: Russia needs Sea of Azov to make a land bridge to Crimea

"At present, the enemy is very active primarily in Mariupol direction and in the Azov Sea region. The Sea of Azov is of particular interest to Russia as Moscow sees it as an opportunity for further advancement into the Ukrainian territory and, above all, Moscow wants to make a land bridge to the Crimean peninsula occupied by Russia,” Commander of the Joint Forces, Lieutenant-General Serhiy Nayev said in an interview with the Wiener Zeitung Austrian newspaper.

According to him, the situation at the first line in the area of conduct of the Joint Forces Operation can be described as "stable and controlled" despite its complexity. "Russian-occupation forces do not advance, but it does not mean they have given up their attempts to provoke further conflict," Nayev said.

The Commander of the Joint Forces stressed that the Ukrainian side clearly adhered to the Minsk peace accords and the cease-fire regime. At the same time, the enemy always uses a truce to regroup its troops and organize some new provocations as "can be confirmed by our soldiers and the international monitors," he noted.