Ukrainian attacks in Crimea, “annexed” by Russia, will intensify, said the head of Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) Kyrylo Budanov in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, admitting that the land front remains “frozen”. for AFP.

“In 2023, the first Ukrainian invasions of the temporarily occupied Crimea took place, although some considered it impossible. And this is just the beginning. This gives hope, especially to Ukrainians in Crimea, who have been living under Russian occupation for ten years and many of whom are beginning to lose heart,” Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview published on Friday.

“Under Ukrainian control is the northern part of the Black Sea, where there are gas production platforms,” ​​and “sea grain export corridors are working again, even if there are risks due to the war,” he added.

Crimea, “annexed” by Moscow in 2014, is a key region for the logistics of Russian troops that occupied part of southern Ukraine. This territory is regularly attacked by Ukrainian missiles and drones.

On the land front, “the very intensive use of attack drones on both sides prevented the offensive of both Russia and Ukraine,” according to the head of the GUR, who also noted the “unprecedented density of minefields after the Second World War.”

Answering a question about the state of mind of the Ukrainian population two years after the invasion, he admitted that it is “tired.”

“The war started ten years ago (not in Donbass), and the large-scale invasion has been going on since 2022. I’m not criticizing it, it’s understandable. But the lack of soldiers is becoming significant, although not alarming,” said Budanov. In Ukraine, the debate about mobilization has been going on for weeks, and the deputies postponed the consideration of the scandalous draft law on Thursday.

Answering the question about the possibility of negotiations with Moscow, he replied that “it is not the right time. Negotiations begin when at least one of the parties, if not both, is interested in them. It is not necessary”.