Ukraine is on the way to liberating Crimea - US General Hodges

General and former Commander of the US Army in Europe, Ben Hodges shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"Ukraine has now taken the road that will lead to the liberation of Crimea and the ejection of Russian forces from Ukraine. So this is an important step by Ukraine to begin this offensive, but I don't think that the main attack has begun," he emphasized.

According to the general, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are putting pressure on the Russian defense, looking for weaknesses, confusing it as to where the main offensive will take place. There will also be some losses in the course of the fighting.

"I mean this will be very difficult for the next few days, but I anticipate that in the next few weeks we will see much more success and momentum by Ukrainian forces," Ben Hodges added.

• On June 16, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported that Ukrainian defenders in the south were conducting active offensives in several directions at once.