JRL NEWSWATCH: “The key to ending the war in Ukraine? Attacking Crimea” – Washington Post/ John E. Herbst, Daniel Fried
“…. Ukrainian forces have a real chance at achieving victory …. The path to victory is anything but straightforward. But one way or another, it likely passes through Crimea. … Crimea represents a point of maximum leverage[] … [and] is exactly where Ukraine needs to make battlefield gains to bring this war to a successful conclusion. … A Ukrainian advance that put Crimea within Ukrainian artillery range would create a huge and expensive logistical problem for … Putin. His military and civilian administration in Crimea would be particularly threatened if Ukraine were also able to fully destroy, or even keep under steady fire, the [Kerch Strait] bridge … connecting [Crimea] with Russia. Such a setback would have political ramifications in Moscow … [F]issures … currently … in the Putin regime would grow. …”