27 October 2022, Thursday, 10:09 383

AFU will be able to de-occupy Crimea by next summer – U.S. General Hodges

Редактор: Roman Vaniyan

Former commander of the U.S. forces in Europe and the retired general of the U.S. army, Ben Hodges, is sure that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are capable of de-occupying the territories captured by the Russians after February 24 this year.

He announced this live on the Mark Faygin’s YouTube channel on Wednesday, October 26.

In addition, he added that the Ukrainian military will be able to liberate Crimea in the spring.

General Hodges also noted that the Russians failed in all their tasks and did not achieve any strategic goal.

"And all the escalation that we are seeing now, including attacks by kamikaze drones and missiles, is designed only to prolong the conflict. By prolonging the conflict, the Russians want to convince their allies, including the United States, to make Ukraine make concessions," the general said.

At the same time, he emphasized that the Ukrainian army will be able to maintain its momentum if it continues to receive the support of the West.

"I believe that Ukrainian forces will drive the occupation forces of Russia to the February 23 line within two months. And they will liberate Crimea by the summer of 2023. Provided that the United States supports Ukraine as before, and all sanctions against Russia remain as they are," he said.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on October 26, President of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embaló said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready for negotiations with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

On October 25, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmytro Peskov, stated that the Kremlin is not opposed to joining the United States and Pope Francis in the "Ukrainian settlement."

Earlier, on September 4, against the background of the "successes of the special operation", Putin was asked to hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.