Photo: Andrey Lopatsky
The former commander of NATO forces in Europe, retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, said Ukraine and the West needed Crimea to control shipping in the Black Sea. Russia now dominates the entire northern sea coast thanks to the peninsula, he told Newsweek.
The army believes that the United States and the European Union should occupy the region, supplying weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces for this.
“It is important not only because we want Ukraine to have an economy. It is also important for the European Union. <…> If you step back, look away from Crimea and look at the Black Sea, it will become painfully obvious to you how Russia can block ships of any type entering and leaving Ukrainian ports,” the retired general explained.
In Russia, Ukraine’s expressed intentions to seize Crimea and Donbass were previously described as suicidal.
Previously, Ben Hodges published a personal plan to capture 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 more chances to enter the territory of the Crimea.
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