The Ukrainian military can knock out the occupiers beyond the line between February 23 and December. The deoccupation of Crimea will have to wait until the summer.
The defense forces will be able to de-occupy the entire mainland territory of Ukraine of Catholic Christmas, if they maintain the current pace of the counteroffensive, writes The Times.
“The successes of the Ukrainian troops in breaking through the Russian front line are encouraging. If progress continues, the forces of the President (Vladimir Putin) will be pushed out of Donbas back to Russia by the end of the year,” the newspaper quoted a high-ranking official in the British government as saying.
It will be more difficult to liberate Crimea, which was occupied by Russia in 2014. With a rapid offensive, losses among the Ukrainian military can be “huge”. Tactics experts prefer a slower, but balanced option.
Expert forecasts now rely more on the successes of the Armed Forces than on specific intelligence. But no matter how events develop, a winter pause in hostilities should not be expected, the article notes.
Former Commander-in-Chief of US Forces in Europe Ben Hodgesbelieves that the Russian offensive is “failing”.
“Given everything we are seeing, there is a feeling that the offensive is failing, at least in Donbas. And I believe that by the end of the year, the Russians will be pushed beyond the line on February 23. This is an army that has been defeated,” Hodges explained.
If Ukraine is able to recapture Kherson, the offensive on Crimea will look quite real, he adds. Using long-range weapons supplied by the United States and its allies, the Armed Forces will be able to liberate the peninsula by the summer of 2023.
“As soon as they do that, frankly, people in Crimea will be trapped,” the retired general added.
Also read: The Telegraph: The US believes that Ukraine is capable of liberating Crimea
We would like to remind you that since February 24, the Ukrainian military de-occupied 8.5 thousand square kilometers in the Kharkiv region and 2.4 sq. kilometers – in Kherson Region.
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