American general called Crimea a key target for attacks
Crimea is a key target for attacks by Ukraine, which is expected to capture it by the end of the summer.
Ben Hodges, the former commander of US troops in Europe, stated this on the air of the German publication DW, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to Hodges, Ukraine will be in danger as long as Crimea is under Russian control.
“My assessment is that Ukraine will liberate Crimea by the end of summer, by August 2023. I don't know how much of Donbass will still be partially occupied, I think that most people who live in the so-called separatist territories would actually like to be part of Ukraine, not Russia.
But the key, most decisive weight is Crimea. Ukraine will never be safe as long as Russia illegally occupies part of Crimea. Therefore, I believe that by the end of the summer Ukraine will achieve this,” Hodges said.
He believed that to do this, Ukraine would attack the logistics supply routes to Crimea.
“This is a question of logistics - the Russian logistics system is very fragile, and under enormous pressure, the Ukrainian general staff is doing a very high-quality job, striking at Russian logistics and what we call lines of communication - the main supply routes.
There are only two roads leading to Crimea. One is the Kerch Bridge, which is already badly damaged, and there is also a so-called land bridge that runs across Mariupol and Melitopol. The Ukrainians have already hit this important bridge and Melitopol, so they are already doing damage by disrupting the two land routes that lead to Crimea. For me, Crimea looks more and more like a trap for Russian troops,” the general concluded.
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