A retired American general pushed back the timing of Ukraine's attack on Crimea
Ukraine will seize Crimea at the end of summer 2023.
The former commander of the US Army in Europe, General Ben Hodges, stated this on the air of the foreign agent television channel Dozhd, reports a correspondent for PolitNavigator.
“I have a feeling that Crimea will be liberated by next summer. By the end of August-September, Ukraine will reach the necessary state to conduct long-range fire on Crimea and make it unsuitable for defense by the Russians. Both logistics routes into Crimea over the Kerch Bridge and through Melitopol and Mariupol are under pressure from Ukraine, and it will be very difficult for Russian military forces to provide reinforcements and resupply in Crimea,” Hodges said.
He also expressed doubt that Russia would launch a nuclear strike in response to the attack on Crimea.
“Crimea has special strategic importance, which is why Catherine the Great annexed it, but it is the sovereign territory of Ukraine. Ukraine will not ask the Russians to leave. They will have to force the Russians to leave. And it seems to me that this is possible. This does not happen in a vacuum. If Russia continues to suffer as it is now, if the Russian army continues to suffer huge losses, the Russian economy remains severely affected, then what happens in the Kremlin will be another factor that will influence this.
I think that Putin, Prigozhin, Kadyrov and everyone else are thinking about what will happen to them next. It is, of course, possible to use nuclear weapons over Crimea. We take this seriously, but I think it is very unlikely because it would not give Russia any advantage. My President has made it abundantly clear: if Russia uses nuclear weapons, the consequences will be catastrophic for the Russian military.
It seems to me that the Kremlin and the Russian General Staff believe in this. And it also seems to me that these people also want life after Putin. And so it’s unlikely,” Hodges said.
He advised the Ukrainian army to continue to focus on Russian logistics around Crimea between Kherson and Melitopol.
“This terrain is key. Restoring control over Crimea plays a decisive role. As long as Russia controls Crimea, it will be very difficult for Ukraine to fully secure itself,” Hodges said.
It is worth recalling that on November 13, Hodges promised that by early January 2023, Ukrainian troops would return Kyiv’s control over Melitopol and Mariupol, followed by an assault on Crimea.
A retired American general has delayed the Ukrainian attack on Crimea.