It’s impossible to return Crimea without military operations – intel chief

Crimea will be returned by combined means, but it is impossible to do without military operations.

"It is impossible without military operations as I have said all these years, this has been my position for a long time... Have you ever heard from me that it is possible to return any territory in a bloodless way? Most likely, no. If someone knows how it is possible, through persuasion or another variant of diplomacy, to make the Russian army move even a millimeter, not figuratively, but actually in any direction, well, let them do it," Head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with RFE/RL’s Crimea. Realities project.

He also noted that the statement about the possibility of an easy offensive in Crimea was erroneous because about 30% of the terrain in Crimea is mountainous and holding the defense there is almost 100% success for the enemy. At the same time, this does not mean that it is impossible to liberate Crimea, Budanov noted.

"This is not a hopeless story, but it will not be as easy as we would like," he said.

When asked whether the enemy's defensive lines would hinder the advance, he said: "They will, believe me."

The intelligence chief also believes that while the defense forces advance toward Crimea, Putin will continue making nuclear threats.