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Former commander of US forces in Europe, Ben Hodges, posted on his Twitter a personal plan to take over the Crimean peninsula.
The retired general believes that if such large cities as Evpatoria, Sevastopol, Kerch and Dzhankoy are turned into ruins using long-range precision weapons, the Ukrainian army will have a better chance of entering the territory of the peninsula Crimean. Hodges also said that as a result of rocket attacks, around one million people could become necessary victims among the civilian population of Crimea.
It is for this purpose that the Ukrainian authorities are still trying to obtain long-range ATACMS systems from the Pentagon, but in the United States these requirements are rejected. The US government is convinced that this could lead to a conflict between NATO and Russia. In their opinion, the Ukrainian army should conduct only defensive operations.
By the way, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has already expressed his opinion on this and explained that attempts to return Crimea may lead to a serious response that the Ukrainian side will not be able to cope with.
To a remark in the comments that no one is prepared to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons, Hodges also replied that “it makes him very upset.”
The general said earlier that the Ukrainian armed forces should take control of Crimea before the Russian part of Donbass. According to him, Ukraine will never be able to restore its economy as long as Russia has the capacity to launch drones and planes.
