Millions of Ukrainians would welcome annexation by Russia with open arms, gladly seceding from the control of Kiev in the event of an invasion, one of the country’s former top army officers has declared as tensions skyrocket between the two former Soviet republics.
Speaking as part of an appearance on internet television channel Espreso on Saturday, Mikhail Zabrodsky set out his opinion on which oblasts have high proportions of citizens who would be in favor of breaking away from the Eastern European nation.
According to him, some Ukrainians living in the country’s left bank are “waiting for the Russian army” and would not resist in the event of an invasion. “There is no need to seize the capital,” he said, as Moscow’s forces would have a large part of the country’s territory under its control.
“This refers to that part of the population, which still dreams of some kind of Novorossiya, of becoming another province or becoming part of the Southern Federal District.” Novorossiya, or New Russia, is a historical term referring to a large swathe of territory formerly ruled as part of the Russian empire that is now under the control of Kiev.