The United States of America leaves it up to Ukraine to use long-range projectiles to attack Crimea. This was announced on Friday, February 3 by Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder.
Earlier that day, the Pentagon announced the allocation of a $2.17 billion military aid package to Ukraine, which included GLSDB projectiles with a range of 150 km.
Answering a question from journalists about whether Washington decided to supply these shells precisely for the purpose of Kyiv being able to strike at Crimea with them, Ryder said that this was the business of Ukraine itself.
“When it comes to Ukraine’s plans and operations, then, of course, this is their decision,” Ryder replied.
Also on Friday, Acting Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said that the ministry had begun forming assault brigades to seize Crimea and Donbass. According to him, the basis of the units will be active and former military, border guards and police officers with significant combat experience. The project was called “Offensive Guard”.
In response, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov assured of the reliable security of the Crimea.
Prior to that, 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. As noted by the publication, if there is a threat of losing control of the Russian Federation over the Crimea, then Ukraine’s position in future negotiations will be strengthened.
At the same time, the official representative of the US State Department, Ned Price, said that Ukraine has the right to use Western weapons at its discretion, based on security considerations, including for strikes on Crimea.
In turn, 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 (AFU) to strike at Crimea with the help of the United States.
The day before, the director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) of Russia, Sergei Naryshkin, said that the return of the Crimean peninsula under the control of Ukraine is impossible.
Crimea became part of Russia in 2014 after a referendum in which the majority of participants 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 emphasized that the inhabitants of Crimea have declared their position in a democratic way, in full accordance with international law, thus, the issue of the peninsula’s geopolitical affiliation is finally closed.
