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"Classic strategy": military expert explains the situation of the Ukraine offensive - a building block is missing for Crimea

2023-05-06T01:47:04.239Z


Former US General Ben Hodges believes Crimea is the focus of Ukraine's counteroffensive - but without initially directly attacking the peninsula.


Former US General Ben Hodges believes Crimea is the focus of Ukraine's counteroffensive - but without initially directly attacking the peninsula.

Munich/Sevastopol – Where are the Ukrainian armed forces striking in their counter-offensive?

One theory involves a pincer movement.

On the one hand in the north-east from Kharkiv along the Russian border in the direction of Luhansk in the Donbass.

On the other hand, in the south of Cherson in the direction of Melitopol along the Azov Sea, and again inland to Zaporizhia on the Dnieper.

Ukraine War: Kiev prepares counter-offensive against Russian army

One who often and offensively comments on the Ukraine war from a Western perspective believes that the main focus is on the complete recovery of southern Ukraine.

In order to then be able to concentrate on the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia.

His name: Ben Hodges.

The Lieutenant General a.

D. of the United States Army was Commander-in-Chief, US Land Forces, Europe from November 2014 to December 2017.

He thinks Crimea is the focus.

Because if they were lost, the war would be lost for the Russian army.

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Believes in a Ukrainian victory: Ex-US General Ben Hodges (3rd from right) on "Maybrit Illner" on ZDF.

To his right is the Luxembourg Foreign Minister, Jean Asselborn.

© Screenshot ZDF

Hodges believes that the recent attacks on Russian fuel depots in Crimea and in the vicinity of the Crimea Bridge are preparations for the counteroffensive.

Also to “isolate” what he called the Crimea and make the Russian occupiers' defense of the peninsula not worthwhile.

Ukraine counter-offensive: ex-US general speaks of “classic strategy”

"It's a classic strategy to interrupt the enemy's logistics before you start an offensive yourself," he said on Thursday evening (May 4) on the talk show "Maybrit Illner" on ZDF.

"It's the same way to defeat crowds with precision.

If you hit worthwhile targets, you can neutralize the only advantage of the Russian army, and that is mass,” said the retired American military, who repeatedly comments on the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine in discussion groups and interviews.

And conspicuously weakened the invasion troops of Moscow.

In order to isolate Crimea and make it untenable for the Russian armed forces, Ukraine must now also receive long-range weapons, said the 65-year-old.

To put this in perspective: From coastal locations between Melitopol, Berdyansk or even Mariupol, the prestigious Crimean Bridge near Kerch could be reached with long-range weapons.

The same would apply to Russian positions on the Crimean coast to the Sea of ​​Azov and possibly also to Sevastopol, where the Russian Black Sea Fleet is stationed.

Ukraine War: The Origins of the Conflict with Russia

Ukraine War: The Origins of the Conflict with Russia

Ukraine's counter-offensive: Attacks on the Azov Sea coast?

Given this situation, the Ukrainian army wants to push the Russian attackers back to the Sea of ​​Azov in the coming weeks and then (in cooperation with western partners) bring more long-range precision weapons into play, Hodges believes: "In this way, Ukraine could possibly even liberate Crimea in the summer.”

Ukraine could possibly even liberate Crimea by the summer.

Ben Hodges, ex-US general at Maybrit Illner on ZDF

The experienced politician Jean Asselborn also assumes that the counter-offensive will be concentrated in the south in particular.

The Luxembourg Foreign Minister was also a guest at "Maybrit Illner".

"I believe that the Ukrainians are trying to get to the Black Sea with this offensive.

Of course, when they are on the Black Sea, they have completely different options when it comes to Crimea,” said the 74-year-old on the show.

Crimea in focus: would the Russian army lose the war if they were lost?

Asselborn and Hodges each argued on ZDF that a loss of Crimea and a defeat in the war would mean the end of Vladimir Putin's Kremlin regime.

“The essence of Putin's regime is war.

If Putin loses the war, he's gone.

As long as he's there, the war will go on," said Asselborn.

Hodges said: "Russia is weak, the army has been smashed to pieces, the military industry has collapsed."

Nevertheless, Hodges sees a high hurdle on the way to recapturing Crimea.

Namely, the answer to the question of whether the Ukrainian armed forces actually get long-range missiles.

For the recapture of Crimea: will Ukraine also get long-range missiles?

"That's the biggest problem: that my President and also the Chancellor, but also the British Prime Minister, always stopped short of saying clearly that we want Ukraine to win," he said: "Because they don't like the result have defined, this means that we only offer things step by step.

The key is to define what the desired outcome is.

And the result should of course be that Ukraine wins.”

(pm)

List of rubrics: © Screenshot ZDF

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-05-06

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