During his visit to India, Putin reaffirmed Russia's intention to extend control over southern Ukraine, including 'Novorossia', up to the Danube Delta.

Vladimir Putin, on an official visit to India, brought back into discussion the concept of 'Novorossia', which aims at the expansion of Russia over southern Ukraine, including the Odesa region, up to the Danube Delta, at the border with Romania.

In an interview, he stated that Russia will liberate Donbas and Novorossia either through military force or by other means, thus reinforcing the idea that Moscow does not abandon its territorial objectives.

The Institute for the Study of War emphasized that this claim suggests an intention to control a much larger area than Donbas. Putin's rhetoric is not new; in the past, Russian officials have clearly expressed the Kremlin's expansionist ambitions, including through statements about maintaining Donbas and Novorossia as part of the Russian Federation.

The ideologues of the 'Novorossia' project have promoted a vision of limitless Russian expansion, suggesting that Russia will expand in all directions where it has influence.