Ukraine's struggle for Crimea will be key in the war with Russia.
This was stated by the former commander of the US forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges, in an interview with the Insider publication, "Ukrainian Pravda" cites.
In his opinion, Crimea is the decisive stage in the war.
"The decisive terrain for this war is Crimea. The Ukrainian government knows that they cannot settle for Russia retaining control of Crimea", he said.
In his opinion, over the next few months, Ukraine will create the conditions for the final liberation of Crimea. This requires long-range high-precision weapons, in particular, ATACMS.
"The transfer of weapons capable of depriving Russia of any hiding place after its missile and air strikes will allow Ukraine to make Crimea unusable for the Russians", he said.
Hodges said that in order to liberate Crimea, it will be necessary to isolate the peninsula from the Russian Federation by destroying the Kerch Bridge.
At the same time, the general criticized Joe Biden's administration for its reluctance to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons.
