SIMFEROPOL, November 20. /TASS/. Ukraine has no chances to win back Crimea either with the use of military force or politically, a senior Russian lawmaker told TASS on Sunday.
Chief of the Ukrainian presidential office Andrey Yermak said earlier that Ukraine was getting prepared for an offensive in Crimea. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Gavrilov said in an interview with Sky News on Saturday that Ukrainian troops would be in Crimea by December and combat operations would be over by the spring 2023.
"Ukraine has no chances at all to win back Crimea by military means. It is impossible. But it doesn’t meat that we should not be ready for provocations and actions on their part. They are getting prepared, and so are we," Sergey Tsekov, a member of Russia’s Federation Council (upper parliament house) from Crimea, said.
According to the senator, such statements by the Kiev authorities are meant to stimulate assistance from Europe and the United States. "There will be neither military nor political [attack on Crimea]," he stressed, adding that people in Crimea and in the rest of Russia have quite definite position on such developments.
Crimea’s head, Sergey Aksyonov, said on Friday that the local authorities are controlling fortification works on the peninsula to ensure people’s security. He stressed that these measures are enough to ensure Crimea’s security.