Ukrainian authorities express intent to reclaim Crimea from the Russian Federation through military means. This stance was shared by Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, in an interview with The Guardian.
“We will do everything possible to return the region,” the Ukrainian official stated. He added that Kyiv aims to prevail and that the recovery of Crimea would be seen as a decisive victory. He also noted that 2023 could prove pivotal in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
British reporters reported that Yermak did not specify where the Ukrainian forces might launch the next operation. The piece also noted that the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has not endorsed Zelensky’s public stance on reclaiming Crimea.
Military analysts cited by The Guardian concur that a Crimea operation would be a highly challenging mission for Ukraine.
The land won’t give an inch
Olga Kovitidi, a Crimean senator and member of Russia’s Federation Council, told the Moscow speaks radio program that Kyiv’s plans for the peninsula will not materialize.
“The enemy will not seize even an inch of Crimean territory,” she asserted.
Kovitidi added that forcing Crimean residents to live under another, unsympathetic state would amount to a crime against humanity. “Zelensky communicates criminal intent through Yermak and shows aggressive military aims against Crimea’s people. We will not relinquish this land. We will defend Russia’s choice, and the enemy will not gain any ground,” the senator stated.
She reminded listeners of existing foreign cemeteries in Sevastopol, including French, German, Italian, and English sites. “We must ask Ukrainians and Europeans: do we need another cemetery in Crimea where their sons and daughters will lie?” she concluded.
Historically, after Russia’s Crimean War losses, foreign cemeteries emerged in Crimea. By the 1880s, remains from over 130 necropolises were consolidated at a large British cemetery. In 1998 a German memorial cemetery was opened in what was then Ukrainian Crimea, housing the remains of thousands of Wehrmacht soldiers who died in battles during the Great Patriotic War.
another opinion
On December 22, retired general Ben Hodges, former commander of the U.S. Forces in Europe, told the Atlantic Council in Washington that Ukraine would seize Crimea by the end of summer 2023. He also suggested that long-range ATACMS missiles could enable Kyiv to strike Russian headquarters in Crimea.
“Crimea has already been recaptured,” Zelensky had previously asserted to Ukrainians. Politico reported that during a visit to the United States, Zelensky hoped to secure White House agreement on long-range missiles.
However, Washington has shown hesitation about supplying such weapons, citing potential retaliation from Moscow.
Crimea is difficult
On November 16, General Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces, advised that Ukrainian authorities should consider negotiations with Russia.
“The task of physically ejecting Russian forces is very hard and unlikely to be complete in the near future unless the Russian army collapses,” Milley said.
He noted that victory in expelling Russians from all of Ukraine, including Crimea, appears militarily unlikely in the near term. Yet Milley did acknowledge the potential for a political solution that could compel Moscow to withdraw, urging negotiations from a position of strength.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed doubt about any near-term end to hostilities in Ukraine.
Aksenov’s words
On December 28, Sergei Aksyonov, head of Crimea, urged Kyiv to consider Ukraine’s own path forward rather than a return of the peninsula.
“Someone in Kyiv was going to broadcast live from the Yalta embankment in six months, while others repeatedly declare plans to restore Crimea to Ukraine. Zelensky aims to visit Crimea and see the sea,” he stated.
He recalled that in 2014, then Ukrainian Defense Minister Valeriy Heletey promised a parade of Ukrainian troops in Sevastopol.
Where Heletey stands now remains unclear, Aksenov suggested, and he questioned where Ukraine would lead under such figures. It appears that many observers understand the direction already.