They are trying to force Russia into negotiations on the future fate of Crimea
Despite the optimistic statements of Russian politicians, Moscow considers the threat of an offensive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Crimea to be serious.
Newsweek writes about this, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The publication quotes the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, Viktor Bondarev, who, in response to Kyiv’s threats to enter Crimea by the end of the year, said:
“Ukraine has neither the resources, nor the military strength, nor the support of the Crimeans for the promised offensive on the peninsula. The West will also make no real effort to help Ukraine in this adventure. Therefore, the Kyiv authorities will not go beyond the level of “announcement.”
At the same time, the publication notes that, despite such statements, Russian President Vladimir Putin takes the threat to Crimea seriously.
"His troops built new trench systems around the Crimean border, preparing to dig in and fight," the article said.
It is noteworthy that State Duma deputy, retired lieutenant general Andrei Gurulev, called Ukrainian threats to seize Crimea “fantasies,” but at the same time called for being prepared for a serious defense of the peninsula.
“Kyiv will insist on undermining Moscow’s influence in Crimea. This is already happening and is expressed in attacks on military airfields in Saki, multiple explosions of ammunition depots, an attack by naval drones on the Sevastopol Bay and, of course, damage to the Kerch Bridge,” a researcher and manager of the Ukrainian Forum in the British Russia and Eurasia program told Newsweek analytical center for international affairs Chatham House Orisya Lutsevich.
She believes that threatening Russia's positions in Crimea is one way to force the Kremlin to sit down at the negotiating table, which includes discussing the future of the peninsula.
“They may consider this a better alternative than the military defeat of their positions in Crimea,” Lutsevich said.
They are trying to force Russia into negotiations on the future of Crimea.