Ukrainian forces are claimed to soon invade Crimea and retake the peninsula from Russia. Photo/REUTERS
KYIV – Head of Military Intelligence Ukraine Krylo Budanov said Kyiv troops would soon invade Crimea, which he said had been taken Russia since 2014.
In an interview with a Ukrainian television channel; TSN, Krylo Budanov said; “The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) will soon enter Crimea”, without specifying a timeframe or other details.
Earlier this month, the Crimea Bridge or Kerch Bridge linking Crimea with Russia’s Krasnodar region was hit by an explosion, amid reports that Kyiv’s domestic security service and the Ukrainian Navy were responsible.
This week the head of Ukraine’s Security Service Vasyl Malyuk confirmed Kyiv was behind last October’s explosion that targeted the Crimea Bridge, Europe’s longest bridge which Kyiv regards as a symbol of Russia’s occupation of Crimea.
While recapturing the Crimean peninsula is one of Kyiv’s purported war goals, Budanov often makes optimistic claims about Ukraine’s gains and Russia’s losses. In September 2022, he said that Ukraine would return to Crimea by the end of spring 2023.
Budanov also said in the interview, which was reported by Ukrainian media on Saturday (29/7/2023), that he was not worried about the presence of Wagner Group mercenaries in Belarus, where they were exiled after the uprising against the Russian military on June 4.
He said that there was no increase in the number of Russian troops. “Although mobilization allows them to constantly replenish the losses they have suffered,” he said.
Budanov’s comments come amid reports of Ukrainian progress in the south of the country towards Crimea, particularly south of Orikhiv in the western Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
2023-07-29 18:22:15
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