OUR Ukraine did not change their plans for Crimea and her intention to claim property from her Russia earth.

“Ukraine will choose a way to return Crimea through political and military means,” she told Politico. Tamil TasevaSpecial Representative of the President of Ukraine for Crimea.

“In order to minimize military losses and threats to the civilian population living in the occupied territories, as well as the destruction of infrastructure, Ukraine plans to allow Russia to leave Crimea. If they do not agree to leave voluntarily, Ukraine will continue to liberate its lands by military means,” he added.

Her comments followed the deputy head of the president’s office Andrey Sibikha, gave an interview to the Financial Times, in which he left open the possibility of Ukraine discussing the future of Crimea with Moscow. “If we manage to achieve our strategic goals on the battlefield and when we are on the administrative border with Crimea, we are ready to open a diplomatic page to discuss this issue,” he said. However, he clarified that this “does not mean that we rule out the liberation of Crimea by our army.”

These comments came while Ukraine expresses interest in negotiations with Russiafor the first time since Kyiv ruled out peace talks with Vladimir Putin last fall.

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine On September 30, he adopted a resolution in which he stated that any negotiations with Putin were impossible in light of Russia’s attempt to annex Ukrainian territory. Kherson, Zaporozhye, Donetsk And Lugansk.

The President of Ukraine set the goal of Ukraine, liberate all your landsincluding Crimea, 10 step formula which he presented at the G20 summit. “The President has not changed his position,” he told Politico. Igor ZovkaDeputy Chief of Staff of the President.

Prior to the invasion, Ukraine viewed political and diplomatic negotiations as the main way to return Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, to Kyiv’s control.

“But everything changed after the invasion,” Tasheva said. “After what we saw in Butsa, Mariupol, Izyum, Russia has limited any possibility of negotiations. The Kremlin has also stated several times that it will not discuss the future of the Crimean peninsula,” he stressed and added that “the Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly stated that their position on the status of Crimea cannot be a debatable issue – this is Ukrainian territory.”

In addition, Ukrainian officials are developing a strategy on how to cope hundreds of Russian collaborators in Crimea after the liberation of the area said Alexey DanilovSecretary of the Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

His proposals include the forced relocation of all Russian citizens who moved to Crimea after 2014 and the return of stolen property to Ukrainians. “Only the president can decide how to return Crimea. But we are already thinking about how best to reintegrate it,” Danilov told Politico.

FT: Help Western officials

Financial Times -commenting on Sibikha’s statement, they talk about “the most frank expression of Ukraine’s interest in the negotiations” since peace talks broke down last April.

“Sibiha’s remarks may bring relief to Western officials who are skeptical of Ukraine’s ability to retake the peninsula but are concerned that any attempt to retake it militarily could escalate Vladimir Putin’s war, possibly with nuclear weapons.”

To date, Zelenskiy has ruled out peace talks until Russian troops leave all of Ukraine, including Crimea. “Sibikha, a veteran diplomat in charge of foreign policy in the presidential office, was by his side during important moments of the war. He said that the president and his aides are now specifically talking about Crimea, because a counter-offensive of the Ukrainian army is coming to retake the territory, ”the FT notes.

“A complex quick military decision”

rear admiral Tim Woodsthe British military attache in Washington said that Crimea would need “a political solution because of the build-up” and added: “I don’t think there will be a very quick military solution … So we are to see what favorable conditions are for Kiev to negotiate, and I think that (Ukraine) would be ready to do that.”

Crimea is under Russian occupation since February 2014 and was annexed by Moscow the following month after a bogus referendum, a move that was declared illegal by the international community.

Source: Politico, FT