Speaking to an interviewer from Russian state media channel Россия 1, Col. Gen. Mordvichev says the quiet part out loud regarding the broader goals of Russian policy: namely that the ambition of conquering Ukraine is only a stepping stone to attacking the rest of Eastern Europe, a course of action which he presents as a necessity (“we will have to attack”).
I would opine that statements like these, brazenly uttered to domestic mass media by a senior military figure, are indicative of the realities of Russian ambitions: to revive Russian imperial domination of Eastern Europe by force of arms.
No matter how the Ukraine war ends, Russia will find itself staring down the barrels of a lot of guns. All of Europe is now united against them (OK, there’s Hungary, but they’re at best an annoyance) and rearming like crazy. Russia, on the other hand, has shown just how weak it is and whatever strength they had is now squandered and will take decades to rebuild. Any threats they make should just be answered with “you and what army, Valodja?”.
Also Switzerland and Austria are happy to stand by and watch the genocide of their neighbors.