If Ukraine's counteroffensive is successful, Crimea may not be de-occupied by military means - Center for Defense Strategies expert

He expressed his opinion on Espreso TV. 

"There are a lot of other factors that influence or will influence the de-occupation of Crimea. One of them is the significant geopolitical weakening of Russia after Prigozhin's rebellion. This is because, the events had a great impact on the Russian population, and most importantly, on their military. In addition, there are different views among the elites about the expediency of waging war," Ryzhenko explained.

The expert of the Center for Defense Strategies emphasized that despite the difficulties in the war against Ukraine, Russia is preparing to defend Crimea.

"If the Ukrainian Armed Forces are successful in the south and east, the operation to liberate Crimea may be non-linear, or rather, not only military. But now we see that the Russians are preparing to defend Crimea. They are redeploying forces and equipment to the occupied peninsula. Additional air defense systems are also being deployed. It is hard to say how the events will unfold further. After all, everything related to Russia is quite unpredictable," he added.

• On July 2, Ukraine's Defense Ministry released a video warning that Crimea will experience 'stormy weather' this summer and that 'unwanted guests: should not visit the peninsula.

• On July 3, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that peace in Ukraine is impossible without the de-occupation of Crimea.