Zelensky: Ukraine’s successful operation in Crimea would have big effect inside Russia

A successful operation by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the temporarily occupied Crimea would be an “example to the world” and have a big effect inside Russia.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with The Economist, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to the Head of State, losing a centrepiece of the Kremlin’s propaganda would show that “thousands of Russian officers died just because of Putin’s ambition”.  

Ukraine is already scoring improbable victories on the strategically important peninsula, destroying a “good number” of ships in the Black Sea fleet. Losing naval bases that Russia has held for the past 240 years would be a huge embarrassment for Putin.

The Head of State mentioned that the speed of any success will depend on the military assistance Ukraine gets from Western partners. In particular, the Taurus, a German-made, long-range stealth cruise missile, could enable Ukraine to destroy the $4 billion Kerch bridge, in effect isolating the Crimean peninsula from Russia.

“Russia has to know that for us this is a military object,” Zelensky stressed.

The President of Ukraine noted that leaks before last summer’s counter-offensive helped Russia prepare its defences. Hence, he did not say much about military plans.

But, Zelensky’s message was that Crimea and the connected battle in the Black Sea will become the war’s centre of gravity. Isolating Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, and degrading Russia’s military capabilities there, “is extremely important for us, because it is the way for us to reduce the number of attacks from that region,” Zelensky explained.