Will Crimea remain in Russian hands forever? Former US Army Europe Commander-in-Chief Hodges doesn’t think Kyiv will put up with the annexation. Rather, it will soon set the “conditions for the eventual liberation of Crimea,” he says.
According to a former senior US military officer, the war could be entering a new phase. “The crucial terrain for this war is Crimea. The Ukrainian government knows that it cannot accept Russia retaining control of Crimea,” the US news portal Business Insider quoted the former commander-in-chief of the US Army as saying. Army in Europe, Ben Hodges.
“In the next few months, Ukraine will set the terms for the eventual liberation of Crimea,” Hodges said. According to him, Ukraine will “never be safe” or be able to rebuild its economy as long as Russia keeps Crimea.
However, such a struggle to recapture Crimea could become extremely bloody. US Chief of Staff Mark Milley said in November that the likelihood that Ukraine would expel Russia from Crimea in the foreseeable future was “militarily not very high”. Crimea serves as a base for Russian planes and warships attacking Ukraine. Russia annexed the peninsula in violation of international law in 2014, and President Vladimir Putin describes it as a “holy land” for Russia.
The British MoD, meanwhile, believes that the Russian authorities are likely to keep open the option of another round of “partial mobilization” conscriptions. This is what the ministry in London writes, citing intelligence information.
On January 22, 2023, the media reported that Russian border guards were preventing Kyrgyz migrant workers with double passports from leaving Russia. They informed the men that their names were on mobilization lists. A day later, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the decree on “partial mobilization” remained in force because it was necessary to support the work of the armed forces. Observers had questioned why the measure had not been formally lifted.
The Russian leadership is most likely continuing to look for ways to raise the large number of soldiers needed for a future major offensive in Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense in London continues. At the same time, it tries to minimize domestic political dissent.
