MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. Ukrainian forces are preparing a "serious operation in Crimea," whose reunification with Russia has not yet been recognized by Kiev, Ukrainian Defense Ministry Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Head Kirill Budanov (deemed a terrorist and extremist in Russia), said.

"Our actions in the Black Sea are a preparation for a serious operation in Crimea," the GUR press service quoted him as saying on its Telegram channel.

The military intelligence agency added that all actions of Ukrainian troops in the Black Sea region in 2022-2023 were also "linked to a strategic plan." It noted that the Ukrainian forces’ attempts to attack the left bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson Region served the same purpose.

The night before, Ukrainian TV channels broadcast a film about the "successes" of the Ukrainian army and military intelligence operations in this direction.

These assertions about certain "operations" of the Ukrainian armed forces are being heard against the background of significant delays in the delivery of aid from Western allies. The US Congress has been unable to approve spending to support Kiev for several months, while supplies from EU countries do not cover all the needs of the Ukrainian army. Since early June 2023, the Ukrainian armed forces had been conducting unsuccessful attempts at mounting an offensive, which resulted in serious losses of manpower and equipment, but did not yield significant results. As a result, Western media began publishing articles about the allies' fatigue with the protracted conflict, and Kiev tried to shift the responsibility for its martial failures to the West, explaining them away by the late receipt of weapons.

The situation became even more complicated for the Ukrainian army after the loss of the Donetsk suburb of Avdeyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), which was liberated by Russian troops. Global Guardian senior analyst Zev Feintuch pointed out that the Ukrainian military will soon face new disasters if Washington does not send new aid to Kiev. In turn, analysts of Spanish newspaper ABC said in late January 2024 that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is trying to attract the attention of Western allies with isolated and scattered actions, which are immediately exaggerated by some media outlets to create an image of purported "opportunities" that Kiev does not actually have.