President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is preparing to seize Crimea. At the same time, he did not name specific dates, but announced the moral and technical readiness of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Russian and Western politicians reacted to this statement by evaluating the prospects of the Ukrainian side.

We are preparing technically, with weapons, reinforcements, the formation of offensive brigades of different categories and of different nature, we send people for training at the sites of other states

Volodymyr Zelensky President of UkraineIn Crimea warned about the third world

Back in December, in an interview with LCI, Zelensky said that the operation to fight for Crimea "began in people's heads." “I believe that in the minds of [Ukrainians] this reconquest has already begun, our determination and our will already exist,” he said, promising that when the operation itself unfolds, “you will hear about it.”

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The head of the Ukrainian community of Crimea, Anastasia Gridchina, believes that in the event of attempts to seize the peninsula militarily, a third world war will unleash. According to her, Zelensky “reads such statements like a memorized mantra.”

The Western masters very much encouraged him to great feats, but they forget that if there is an attempt at a military invasion of the Crimea, it will definitely be the third world war in which their tanks and all weapons will burn like candles.

Anastasia GridchinaHead of the Ukrainian Community of Crimea

Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Revenko in his Telegram channel reminded Zelensky that "no one has ever taken Crimea from the sea." At the same time, he supported the use by Russia of "any weapon at its disposal" in case Ukraine makes an attempt to seize the peninsula. “And Mr. Zelensky must understand this. Even in a delusional state, ”added the parliamentarian.

I feel sorry for him. Just human. I have driven myself into a corner and there is no way out. Lost pawn on the world chessboard. Well, God bless him

Evgeny RevenkoDeputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Biden ruled out hints to Kyiv

US President Joe Biden also spoke about the plans of his Ukrainian counterpart. In an interview with ABC News, he admitted that the return of Crimea by Ukraine could be delayed. The American leader noted that there may be a transitional period before this happens. “Not all at once,” he said.

Biden stressed that the White House does not intend to tell Ukraine how it should end the conflict with Russia. “We will not dictate to them what the end result will be,” he said.

Previously, Politico, citing its own sources, conveyed the same idea. According to the sources of the publication, the United States does not want to push Kyiv to seize the Crimea. In particular, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made it clear that Washington is not actively encouraging Ukraine to try to regain control of the peninsula. Blinken spoke on the topic during an online conversation with a panel of experts on Feb. 15. He said that in the US administration, a possible Kyiv offensive on the peninsula would mean crossing a "red line" for Russia.

Thus, the politician responded to the statement of the Acting Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Igor Klymenko, according to which the ministry began to form assault brigades to capture the listed territories reunited with Russia.

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On February 8, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said that Kyiv should "destroy certain Russian facilities" that are damaging the country. Later, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev replied that in the event of an attack on Crimea, Ukraine could be hit with weapons of any type. He recalled that international law must respect the will of the people.

As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly stated, Crimea, like Donbass, is a subject of the Russian Federation and the security of the region is reliably ensured.