I thought his comment on the apparent leaked "backdown" on the Kerch Bridge in the Independent was also interesting.
I see that got repeated in Kiev News:
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/32255
...the western mouthpiece in Ukraine.

The bridge was "doomed" according the the UK tabloid press a mere three days ago, so perhaps there has indeed been a lowering of expectations going on. ( i.e the Anglo warmongers have folded that particular hand)

"Odessa will have to fall"

-Something I have said all along. The Black sea litoral is really what this is all about.

They can't get Sebastopol...so the idea is to keep Odessa as a consolation prize and retry the same NATO dominance game from there sometime down the line.

That's of course why the Ukrainians ( i.e.the Brits) have been focussing on the Russian Navy and most especially on the land assault ships with all those fancy missiles and torpedoes.
It's a puzzle to me how the Russians intend to take it...which they must, or the war has effectively failed. But...It's also a historical Russian city and its highly doubtful the Russians want it to become a heap of ruins...so problematic.