Ukrainian director and military officer Oleg Sentsov is convinced that after the seizure of Donetsk region and Crimea, the Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin will not stop there and will continue the war until the complete occupation of the territory of Ukraine.
Points of attention
- Putin's objective is to expand Russia's influence beyond Crimea and Donetsk, making it crucial for Ukraine to strengthen its military and diplomatic strategies.
- Ukraine must mobilize, improve governance in its military, and attract foreign partners to effectively combat Russia's aggression and work towards regaining its occupied territories.
- Victory over Russia is achievable through a combination of military strength, skillful diplomacy, and international support, as highlighted by Oleg Sentsov's perspective on the situation.
- The return of Crimea requires a strong military and political position, as negotiating with Putin may not be fruitful, but a different leadership in Russia could open up possibilities for discussions.
- Sentsov emphasizes the need for Ukraine to focus on creating a demilitarized zone in Crimea, paving the way for potential negotiations on the peninsula's return post-Putin era.
Putin will not be stopped by the seizure of part of Ukraine
Sentsov noted that the key goal of the Kremlin dictator is to expand the zone of his own influence.
If we give those territories to Putin just like that, it will mean our partial defeat and postponement of the war. He won't stop. He did not need only Crimea, or Donbas, or Kherson region. Putin needs all of Ukraine. He will go further to expand the zone of his influence, - explains the Ukrainian director.
He noted that currently Ukraine is highly dependent on the military assistance of Western partners in the supply of equipment and ammunition.
However, according to him, Ukraine is able to provide itself with personnel and an effective management structure.
At the same time, we must mobilize ourselves, improve the management of the army, fight smarter and more effectively. Russia will indeed go further. Perhaps we will not be able to defeat it militarily, go to the borders of 1991 and enter Crimea. But we will win in a different way: when Russia breaks its teeth against Ukraine and leaves itself, because it will not like us, perhaps because of its internal processes, Sentsov is convinced.
In his opinion, in order to end the war faster, Ukraine needs to quickly attract foreign partners to the ranks of the army.
How Ukraine can return Crimea
Sentsov is convinced that it is pointless to negotiate with the Kremlin dictator on the return of Crimea, but he will not be in power in Russia forever.
He believes that the Ukrainian military can achieve the creation of a demilitarized zone on the occupied peninsula.
This is already the way to such negotiations on the return of Crimea, which can be conducted only from a strong military and political position and, probably, with a different leadership of Russia. It will come after Putin and will be forced to negotiate, - Sentsov notes.
