Сounteroffensive slows down, but Ukraine forces Russian Black Sea Fleet out of Sevastopol — General Hodges

NV reported the information, citing an interview with the former US Army Commander in Europe, General Ben Hodges.

According to the general, the offensive in the south should help isolate Crimea by cutting the Kerch Bridge. And for this, Hodges notes, Ukraine needs more weapons that can hit Russian targets on the peninsula, such as Sevastopol, the air base in Saki, a large logistics center in Dzhankoy, and generally make Crimea unusable for Russian troops.

"Look, a counteroffensive is much more than just what happens on the battlefield. Ukraine is conducting what NATO calls multidisciplinary operations. This means that air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace are involved. All these things are integrated to achieve results. And, of course, the result of the counteroffensive should be, in my opinion, the liberation of Crimea," the general said.

Currently, the Ukrainian army uses only Storm Shadow missiles, Hodges said.

"Imagine if Ukraine had at least 50 or 100 missiles like ATACMS with a range of 300 kilometers. Or the German TAURUS. Imagine what would happen. All Russian headquarters and logistics centers — not only in Crimea, but also in the entire Zaporizhzhia region and on the other side of the Dnipro from Kherson — would disappear," he said.

• Natalia Humeniuk, head of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces, noted that Russian ships continue to be in their basing points, but stay as far away from Crimea as possible. She mentioned that their primary challenge and objective now are to reorganize logistics since they have relocated, yet there are essential items, including loading systems for Kalibr missiles, still located in Crimea.