Ukraine has the right to use Western weapons at its discretion, based on security considerations. This was announced on Wednesday, January 18, by US State Department spokesman Ned Price.
Thus, he commented on the possibility of strikes on the Crimea.
“Ultimately, it is up to our Ukrainian partners to decide how and where best to use these weapons and supplies to protect their territory,” Price said during the briefing.
According to him, Washington is in constant contact with Kyiv, but does not dictate its own rules to it. Since the American authorities refuse to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, they do not intend to prevent possible attacks, as well as to encourage them.
On the eve of the director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) of Russia, Sergei Naryshkin, said that the return of the Crimean peninsula under the control of Ukraine is impossible.
On December 26, 2022, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Kirill Budanov, said that Kyiv intends to take Crimea in a “combined way” – by force and diplomacy.
At the same time, the head of the Committee on Public Diplomacy and Interethnic Relations of the Crimean Parliament, Yuri Gempel, called Ukraine’s plans to seize the republic in 2023 an aggressive crazy chatter. According to him, Ukrainian politicians will be punished for all their “criminal actions and plans” in relation to the inhabitants of Crimea.
Crimea became part of Russia in 2014 after a referendum in which the majority of participants voted for reunification with the Russian Federation. Kyiv refuses to recognize the results of the vote and considers Crimea its territory. The leadership of the Russian Federation has repeatedly emphasized that the inhabitants of Crimea have declared their position in a democratic way, in full accordance with international law, thus, the issue of the peninsula’s geopolitical affiliation is finally closed.