Ukrainian foreign minister: Russia will try to ‘finish with Mariupol’

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Sunday predicted that Russia will try to “finish with Mariupol” in the coming weeks as fighting intensifies in eastern Ukraine.

Asked by moderator Margaret Brennan on CBS’s “Face the Nation” what he is expecting in the coming weeks of the Russian invasion, Kuleba predicted fighting will intensify in eastern Ukraine and the Donbas region and anticipated that Moscow will try to seize full control of Mariupol.

He also said missile attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities will continue.

“Intensification of heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine, in Donbass, large-scale offensive of Russia in that part of Ukraine, and also desperate attempts of the Russian forces, as I’ve said, and to finish with Mariupol at any cost. These are my expectations,” Kuleba said.

“And of course, missile attacks on Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine seem to continue,” he added.

Kuleba’s comments come during the seventh week of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24 when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military operation in Ukraine.

Russia has since seized some Ukrainian areas, but Moscow’s efforts have been stymied in other places because of staunch Ukrainian opposition.

The White House earlier this month said it believed Russia was repositioning its troops in Ukraine to focus its offensive on the eastern parts of the country.

The outlook came after Russia said it was “drastically reducing military activity” near the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv. The Pentagon, however, said the change of stature was just a “repositioning” and “not a real withdrawal.”