SOCHI, October 5 Vladimir Putin at the plenary session of the International Discussion The Valdai Club called Odessa a Russian city.
“Odessa is, of course, a Russian city, but a little Jewish,” said the head of state.
As the Russian leader noted earlier, Odessa can become an apple discord, and a symbol of conflict resolution, including the current crisis in Ukraine.
In Odessa, after the start of the special operation, several monuments related to Russian history were demolished. Ukrainian media reported the dismantling of monuments to Empress Catherine II and commander Alexander Suvorov.
The dismantling of monuments associated with Soviet history, as well as the renaming of streets, began in Ukraine in 2015, when the law on decommunization was adopted. Recently, the authorities in Kyiv have begun to fight not only against Soviet history, but also against everything connected with Russia.
Putin's speech at the plenary meeting of the Valdai Club. Online report >>