Russia will remain in southern Ukraine 'forever', a senior Russian politician has claimed during a visit to the Moscow-controlled city of Kherson.
Andrey Turchak, a senior member of the ruling United Russia party, warned on Friday there will be 'no return to the past' for Ukrainians.
He said that Russians and Ukrainians will 'live together' in Kherson, the first major city to fall to Russian forces since the start of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
'Russia is here forever. There should be no doubt about this. There will be no return to the past,' Andrey Turchak said, according to a statement from the ruling United Russia party.
'We will live together, develop this rich region, rich in historical heritage, rich in the people who live here,' Turchak added.
It was the first time a senior Russian official indicated Moscow's intentions to remain present on Ukrainian territory.
Andrey Turchak (pictured in 2017), a senior member of the ruling United Russia party, warned on Friday there will be 'no return to the past' for Ukrainians
A nurse checks the wounds of Ponomareva Natalia Sergiivna, 41, three days after her family's home was shelled by Russian forces in their frontline village of Vysokopilla in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine on Thursday
Kherson is suffering from a severe shortage of medicine, money and food since Russian forces took control of the city and the surrounding area and blocked off supplies.
Turchak said Moscow would open a humanitarian centre in the city for the delivery of food, medicine and essentials.
Russia has blocked all humanitarian assistance except its own, which troops deliver before Russian state TV cameras, and which many residents refuse to accept.
Despite Turchak's claims that Russia will remain in southern Ukraine 'forever', Vladimir Putin's men have suffered a string of battlefield setbacks and Kherson in the south remains the only significant city Moscow has captured.
The Kremlin conceded Thursday that Kyiv's Western partners had prevented a quick end to Moscow's campaign by sharing
