Putin and FSB decided to go back to this initial idea a few days ago.

11-27-2018        

-former Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk:    (Russia's move against Ukraine at Sea of Azov) came out of the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian troops in 2014, it came out of the invasion of the Russian military forces and pro-Russian proxies deployed in Donetsk and Lugansk, when Russia started the invasion in the East of Ukraine. It came out of the MH17 that was shot down by a Russian missile in 2014, it came out after Russia launched full offensive operations against Ukraine.

At the initial stage Russia’s idea was to take the whole of Ukraine, when they illegally annexed Crimea and when they sent troops to Donetsk and Lugansk. President Putin expected that he will cross the Ukrainian territory on a red carpet. He didn’t expect a strong resistance of the Ukrainian people against the Russian army and the Russian proxies. Initially his plan was to take over Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Mariupol, and I want to reiterate: Mariupol…

-G.G:  because it’s Ukraine’s largest port city on the Azov Sea.

A.Y.:  Absolutely, and that’s one of the key industrial areas in Ukraine. Then to have a corridor, they call it, to take Mariupol, then Kherson, then Odessa, and to link it to Transnistria. This was the initial plan crafted by Putin’s administration and his FSB. And they decided to go back to this initial idea a few days ago.    https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/interview/yatsenyuk-azov-sea-tensions-reveal-lack-of-cooperation-between-ukraine-and-nato/