MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd February, 2023) The US Defense Department believes that Kiev is unlikely to oust Russian troops from Crimea and regain control over the peninsula in the near future, the Politico newspaper reported on Thursday, citing four anonymous sources familiar with the the content of a closed-door briefing.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper and Director for Operations of the Joint Forces Headquarters Douglas Sims were among the speakers at the briefing, the sources told the media outlet.
At the same time, another source said that the briefing was more ambiguous, though the main idea was still that Ukraine's victory in regaining control over the territory "is not guaranteed," Politico reported.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh refused to comment on the briefing, but noted the successes of the Ukrainian troops in contrast to what the sources told the media outlet.
"In terms of Ukraine's ability to fight and take back sovereign territory, their remarkable performance in repulsing Russian aggression and continued adaptability on the battlefield speaks for itself," Singh was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
Prior to the briefing, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley said earlier in January that it would be also very difficult to oust Russian forces from the Ukrainian territories in 2023. He also stated then that the conflict should end diplomatically.
Politico reported that Milley's words had sparked outrage among the Ukrainian leadership, sources in which told the newspaper that US intelligence had been constantly mistaken about the capabilities of Ukrainian troops throughout the conflict.
Crimea became part of Russia in a referendum held in March 2014 in which nearly 96% of Crimeans voted for accession to Russia. Ukraine still considers the peninsula to be its own territory that was illegally occupied by Russia. Moscow has repeatedly stated that the decision made by the Crimean people was in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter.
On February 24, 2022, Russia also launched a special military operation in Ukraine in response to calls by the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics for protection from Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defense Ministry said the operation, which targets Ukrainian military infrastructure, aims to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine, and to completely liberate Donbas.
In late September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, signed agreements on the accession of these territories to Russia, following referendums that showed that an overwhelming majority of the local population supported becoming part of Russia.
