This is the second time I am hearing this today. Colonel Douglas Macgregor is saying the same thing. That Russian Special Forces have been seen inside the port city of Odessa. This will have a significant effect on concluding the war in Ukraine. Odessa is on Ukraine's southern coastline on the Black Sea - Ukraine's only outlet to the ocean and international maritime trade. If Russia takes Odessa, Ukraine will become a landlocked country. Here is a map.
I believe President Putin has briefed President Trump on this move when they both met in Alaska recently. Because if Russia takes Odessa it can conclude the war much quicker. Which is what both Mr Trump and Mr Putin want.
It can also be used as a bargaining chip by Russia to secure a long lasting peace in Ukraine. Or it may not. There is an opinion that Russia will take and keep Odessa permanently. About 30% of the people in Odessa are native Russians while more than 50% of the people "speak Russian as their main language in their personal lives".
Here is another map - this one from the BBC showing the frontline in the Ukraine (from seven days ago).
The Russians have taken Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and of course they hold Crimea. These are the majority Russian speaking regions of the Donbas (Donetsk Coal Basin).
But you can see that the area under Russian control in Kherson is still about 80 km away from the port city of Odessa. So where did these Russian Special Forces come from? Have they infiltrated over 80 km from the Kherson area? It means that they have sufficient numbers and logistical support to venture so far "behind enemy lines". These are most likely Muslim Chechen soldiers of the Akhmat Special Forces.
Lets see what happens.
