A general of Vladamir Putin has suggested he will invade Moldova taking more of Ukraine's coastline.
Rustam Minnekaev claims the Russian president has ambitions to extend his invasion beyond the borders of the war-torn country.
Russia ’s ambassador in Moldova was summoned on Friday after he claimed Moscow was trying to create a route towards a breakaway part of the country where Russian troops are based..
Minnekaev said: “Control over the south of Ukraine is another way out to Transnistria, where there are cases of Russian-speaking people being oppressed.”
Transnistria is a region of Moldova where pro-Russian separatists have given arms and are supported by Moscow.
The breakaway area, known as Pridnestrovia, is said to be similar to Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine’s east where Russian is spoken and which broke away from Kyiv in 2014.
Moldova denies Russia speakers are being oppressed. It is a common claim Russia uses to justify military action on post Soviet states.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president has warned previously that attacks on Ukraine were "only the beginning".
But still Putin's forces are facing fierce resistance and according to Ukraine, Russia is said to have lost 873 tanks, 179 aircraft and 21,800 troops since the invasion began.
Military figures also say 50 Russian officers were killed in an attack in Kherson, the Daily Mail reports.
Gnerals were among those reportedly died, with two dead an another critically injured in shelling on Friday. This means Moscow has lost nine generals since the invasion started.
Further rumours about his health emerged after he was seen biting his lips, fidgeting and looking unsteady at a church service.
It has been claimed he has Parkinson's or terminal cancer and he was seen looking fragile while clutching a candle at a midnight mass service.
The 69-year-old, was also seen tightly gripping a table and gapping his feet in a video which claimed to show his fragile physical state.
The Mirror told yesterday how experts have suggested a number of theories ranging from cancer and Parkinson's to steroid-use and psychosis or a personality disorder.
Now footage of the leader looking shaky and anxious at Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral has further stoked the rumours.
During the brief footage of the service, Putin was seen chewing his lips and fidgeting as he spoke only once in chorus with the congregation saying "truly he is risen".
The concerning clip came days after he was seen "barely able to hold himself upright" as he gave orders to defence chief Sergei Shoigu on the siege of Mariupol.
Former Tory MP Louise Mensch has previously reported on Putin's potential health problems.
She wrote: "Putin has Parkinson’s disease and here you can see him gripping the table so that his shaking hand is not visible but he cannot stop his foot from tapping."
