The head of the Ukrainian SSR emphasized that Ukraine should return to the borders of 1991, and Ukrainians are not interested in the opinion of people who do not agree with this.

Ukraine will release all the territories seized by Russia, and the occupied Crimea will be returned by a combination of military force and diplomacy.

This was reported by the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, Kyrylo Budanov, in an interview with LIGA.net, commenting on the fears of Western politicians and experts that Crimea is a “red line” and exclusively a diplomatic story.

He noted that Ukraine should return to the borders of 1991, which are universally recognized in the world. And if someone does not agree with this, then he does not agree with the principles of the UN and the world order that has existed since the end of World War II.

“I am not interested in listening to the opinions of some people who do not reflect the position of the Ukrainian people. I have the opposite opinion. We will return all the lost territories. Crimea will be returned by a combined way: both by force and diplomacy. But without force, nothing will happen. Our units will enter there with weapons in hand,” Budanov stressed.

The occupation of Crimea by Russia and forecasts regarding its release

Russia launched armed aggression against Ukraine in 2014, sending troops to the Crimean peninsula and declaring its authority there. The Russians tried to legitimize and legalize their occupation of Crimea by falsifying a referendum there on joining the Russian Federation. However, this pseudo-referendum was not recognized by the UN or any civilized state in the world.

Russia turned the resort and tourist-attractive peninsula into a military base, and in 2022 launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including from occupied Crimea.

However, despite the scale of the war launched by Russia against Ukraine, one day of which experts compare to a month in Afghanistan, the Ukrainian military is successfully resisting the invaders, liberating the captured territories and preparing for the deoccupation of Crimea.

According to the forecast of the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, Kyryl Budanov, hostilities in Ukraine should end by the summer of next year. To begin with, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will go to the borders of Ukraine in 1991. And after the end of the war, a very serious political process related to changes to the current Russian Federation will begin in Ukraine.

The ex-commander of the US Army, Ben Hodges, also predicted that, despite the slowing down of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces in various areas of the front, the complete de-occupation of Ukraine will be carried out by the summer of 2023. He is confident that Ukraine will return all its territories, including Crimea. Hodges added that in order to liberate its territories faster, Ukraine needs tanks from its allies, and the stated risks associated with their supply are exaggerated and should be put aside.

The Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, retired Major General Volodymyr Gavrylov, stated that the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine could end by the end of spring 2023. He said that there is a military option for the liberation of Crimea with a certain combination of forces, resources and more. But our success with Crimea can also be facilitated by the phenomenon of the “black swan” – an unexpected event that no one expected – which Russia may face internally.