British Defense Minister Ben Wallace believes that Ukraine has the opportunity this year to return the Crimea, occupied by Russia in 2014.
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He said this in an interview with The Washington Post.
As we have seen on the battlefield – if you hit the Russian troops in the wrong place, they actually collapse. You can send tens of thousands of young people to their deaths, which they do, but you can’t guess the tanks and weapon systems they need, Wallace said.
Wallace said the scale of Russian casualties suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin still believes he can win the war if he sends even more troops to Ukraine.
The defense minister suggested that Putin may not be getting accurate information about what is happening and may not be aware of the scale of his country’s military problems “until the moment of collapse or internal challenge.” If that happens, NATO and the West “should be ready for anything,” Wallace said.
The British minister also commented on the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO. He noted that there were still differences of opinion on this issue.
We must be realistic and say that in Vilnius [на саміті країн НАТО влітку 2023 року] it’s not going to happen, it’s not going to happen anytime soon,” Wallace said.
The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly stated that the war with Russia can be ended only after the withdrawal of Russian troops from all occupied territories and the restoration of Ukraine within internationally recognized borders, that is, taking into account Crimea.
In April 2023, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Sibiga said that Kyiv was ready to negotiate with Moscow on the conditions for the return of the peninsula if, during the counteroffensive, the Armed Forces of Ukraine reached the borders of Crimea.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.