Russia fears Ukraine could launch a “direct assault” on the occupied territory of Crimea as part of its counter-offensive against Moscow’s invasion, according to UK intelligence.
The peninsula has been occupied by Russia since 2014, but Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he wants to reclaim all of his country’s territory.
In their latest update on the progress of the war, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that in recent weeks Russia “has continued to expend significant effort building defensive lines deep in rear areas, especially on the approaches to occupied Crimea”.
“These elaborate defences highlight the Russian command’s assessment that Ukrainian forces are capable of directly assaulting Crimea,” the MoD said.
“Russia continues to see maintaining control of the peninsula as a top political priority.”
Evidence of Ukraine’s ambition to re-claim Crimea first emerged last August when explosions were reported deep inside the territory.
The MoD update is latest evidence of the problems facing Vladimir Putin nearly 16 months after the invasion of Ukraine began.
It emerged yesterday that his ongoing feud with the boss of the mercenary Wagner Group is continuing.
Meanwhile, US president Joe Biden has warned that his Russian counterpart could make good on his threat to use tactical nuclear weapons as the conflict with Ukraine continues.