Ukrainian deputy proposes a military option for the return of Crimea and Donbas
In an interview with 112 Ukraine TV, the deputy of the Ukrainian Rada from the "People's Front" faction, Yuriy Bereza said that the return of the Crimea and the Donbas to Ukraine can only happen by force.
The deputy noted that thanks to the Minsk agreements, Ukraine has put its military in order and reorganized the armed forces. "Only the Ukrainian army, Ukrainian soldiers will enable us to regain sovereignty in the Donbas and Crimea. There will not be any other options," Bereza said. The deputy stressed that the Ukrainian army had become "one of the most capable armies in Europe" and that "the time of Russia is ending."
In late January, the head of the Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said that the peninsula had become an "unassailable fortress” after joining Russia.
The Crimea peninsula was annexed by the Russian Federation in March 2014 by the deployment of camouflage-clad “green men” who did not wear any insignia or other marks on their uniforms but later were recognized as Russian troops. In the same month, there was a ‘referendum’ held in the peninsula, the results of which lead to the annexation of the Crimea by Russia. Ukraine does not recognize the results of the referendum and considers the peninsula "a temporarily occupied territory".
The Kremlin has faced international condemnation for its annexation of the Peninsula, leading many western countries to impose economic sanctions against Russia. In the United Nations, only Afghanistan, North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria recognize Crimea as a legitimate federal subject of Russia.