Crimea will be freed this year - military expert Svitan

He expressed this opinion in the Verdict with Serhiy Rudenko program on Espreso TV channel.

"We will definitely enter Crimea this year. Based on the logic of the war and the theatre of operations, the best option is to first liberate Crimea, and then move towards Donbas and work with Donbas. Because we cannot leave the grouping sealed in Crimea in the rear of the troops that are moving," Svitan said.

The military expert also added that it is impossible to liberate Donbas without de-occupation of Crimea, without getting rid of Russian troops in Crimea.

"That is why the movement to the Azov coast and the de-occupation of Crimea will take place this year. We can accomplish this by the summer if the dynamics in supplies continues, and then liberate Donbas," Svitan said.

• On January 30, Boris Johnson told how Vladimir Putin threatened him with a missile strike before the invasion of Ukraine.

• The Russian leaderr's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the words of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the missile threats from Vladimir Putin are not true.