On January 20, American businessman Elon Musk criticized the readiness of the United States to support Ukraine in the event of an attack on the Crimean peninsula.
“I am pro-Ukrainian, but a ruthless escalation is very risky for Ukraine and the world,” Musk wrote on his Twitter account, commenting on an article in The New York Times.
Earlier, on January 18, The New York Times, citing sources among American officials, reported that Washington was discussing with the Kyiv authorities the possibility of using the supplied weapons to attack Crimea or the Crimean Bridge. According to the publication, according to the United States, with the risk of Russia losing control over Crimea, Ukraine’s position in future negotiations will be strengthened.
On the same day, US State Department spokesman Ned Price assessed the possibility of Ukrainian attacks on Crimea. He stated that Ukraine can use Western weapons at its own discretion, based on its security concerns. According to the representative of the State Department, Washington is in constant contact with Kyiv, but does not dictate its own rules to it.
Also, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on January 19 that the United States supports Ukraine in an effort to “reclaim the territories” by any means. According to her, Washington adheres to the position that Crimea is supposedly “part of Ukraine.”
On January 19, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that in the presence of heavy weapons from the West, the Ukrainian side would attempt to attack Crimea.
In turn, adviser to the head of the office of the Ukrainian leader, Mikhail Podolyak, announced the support of Western countries for Ukraine’s hypothetical strike on Crimea. At the same time, he denied statements that Kyiv would attack Russian territory. At the same time, Podolyak pointed out that international law allegedly allows Ukraine to strike at the peninsula.
At the same time, State Duma deputy from the Republic of Crimea Mikhail Sheremet called the threat of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky to attack the region agony. He added that if the West starts sending weapons to attack the peninsula, then “then it will not be good for anyone.”
Federation Council Senator Sergei Tsekov on January 19, in an interview with Izvestia, called Zelensky’s promise to attack Crimea “a typical set of phrases” used by the Ukrainian authorities.
Also, the head of the Crimean parliamentary committee on public diplomacy and interethnic relations, Yuriy Gempel, predicted a “crushing response” to an attempt by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) to strike at Crimea with the help of the United States.
In addition, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that the discussion about the supply of weapons to Ukraine, which will allow strikes on Russian territory, does not bode well from the point of view of global and pan-European security. According to him, the supply of such weapons will mean bringing the conflict to a new qualitative level.
Meanwhile, on January 20, the head of the peninsula’s parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, noted the next day that any attempts by the Ukrainian military to attack Crimea would not go unanswered.
At the same time, columnist Rod Dreher, in an article for The American Conservative, said that the idea of the possibility of the capture of Crimea by Ukrainian troops, the American authorities generate real madness, which could lead to disaster for the West.
Crimea became part of Russia in 2014 after a referendum in which the majority of the inhabitants of the peninsula 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 stated that the inhabitants of Crimea democratically, in full accordance with international law, voted for reunification and the question of the ownership of the peninsula is finally closed.
