The mayor of Melitopol, a major city in southern Ukraine, told NHK that the liberation of Melitopol would provide a foothold for the recapture of Crimea, and that the rebellion offensive that the Ukrainian side is preparing will take place on an unprecedented scale with this city as its axis.
The mayor of Melitopol, a major city in the southern Ukrainian Zaporozhye region where the Russian military continues to take control, gave an online interview to NHK on the 11th.
Commenting on the situation on the ground, Mayor Fedorov said, "Russian troops and fighters from the private military company 'Wagener' have been sent one after another, and tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have been deployed on the front line," and pointed out that the Russian side continues to gather soldiers on the front line in Zaporozhye Oblast and has built more than three defensive lines.
According to the mayor, the Russian army is using Melitopol as a supply base for troops stationed in Zaporozhye and neighboring Kherson Oblast, and explained that the city is strategically important to the Russians.
"Melitopol is connected to southern Crimea, which Russia unilaterally annexed, by two highways. It is one of the most important cities to liberate," he said, stressing that the liberation of Melitopol would give Ukraine a foothold to retake Crimea.
He then stated, "The reversal offensive will be on a larger scale than in the past," and expressed his recognition that the Ukrainian counter-offensive was carried out on an unprecedented scale, centered on Melitopol, and that preparations are currently being made cautiously.