"Frustrating" information for Ukraine. They won't like this
Ukrainian forces are unlikely to succeed in retaking Crimea in the near future.
Source: RT.rs
Four senior officials of the Ministry of Defense told this to the members of the Armed Forces Committee during a "confidential briefing".
This assessment will certainly frustrate Kyiv, which has reiterated on numerous occasions that the return of the peninsula is one of its main goals, "Politico" reports.
It is unclear what led officials to make that assessment, but it is clear that the Pentagon does not believe that Ukraine has the strength and capabilities to drive Russian troops from the peninsula, which Moscow seized nearly a decade ago.
A similar point was alluded to in recent weeks by General Mark Milley, the US Joint Chief of Staff.
"I still maintain that this year it would be very, very difficult to militarily expel Russian forces from all territories of Ukraine," he said a few days ago in Germany. "That doesn't mean it can't happen. It doesn't mean it won't happen, but it will be very, very difficult," Milley added.
Russia reclaimed Crimea in 2014, and the issue of recapturing the peninsula is something Kyiv insists on.
