Ukraine is getting ready to use western weapons to annihilate the Russian navy's Black Sea fleet and retake Crimea, according to Kyiv's deputy defense minister.
According to Defense Attaché of Ukraine Major-General Volodymyr Havrylov, the Ukrainian military was developing its own anti-ship missile capabilities and was holding off on attacking until it had received longer-range weaponry from other countries.
While visiting Britain and watching Ukrainian forces practice, he declared, "They have to pay back for their aggressiveness."
Regular cruise missile launches from Russian ships in the Black Sea target southern Ukrainian infrastructure.
Due to the ships' placements, Ukraine is unable to export grain from ports like Odesa due to concerns that an attack will be launched against their ships.
In an interview with The Times, Mr. Havrylov stated: "The Russian Black Sea navy poses a constant threat to us.
We must deal with this threat given the new technologies and skills we acquire.
"We got things going with the Snake Island business. We're getting anti-ship capabilities, and eventually we'll go after the fleet.
"It is unavoidable because we must provide our citizens with security.
"If we have the power to do so, we are prepared to attack them all over the Black Sea."
He claimed that they also intended to retake Crimea and were in contact with the West to inquire about the possibility of using Western weapons to attack Russian military there.
Despite Crimea's annexation by Russia in 2014, it is still commonly acknowledged that it is a part of Ukraine.
We will eventually have sufficient funds to attack Russia in the Black Sea and Crimea. Any target there is lawful for us since Crimea is Ukrainian land, he said after participating in a panel discussion with the Henry Jackson Society think group in central London.
He claimed that it might be returned through diplomatic or military channels.
We must carefully consider how to carry out the task, he remarked.
“Russia will have to leave Crimea if they wish to exist as a country.”
An previous report from an Odesa-based military officer said that Russia has begun relocating a "substantial number" of its Black Sea fleet from the Crimean port city of Sevastopol to the safety of Novorossiysk.
After a Ukrainian official this week stated that Crimea would be a target for US-built Himars, Mr. Havrylov made his remarks.
More than a dozen Russian ammunition stockpiles kilometers from the front line have reportedly been destroyed by the long-range artillery rocket system, which can strike targets from 50 miles away.
Putin's close friend and former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev issued a warning that any attack on Crimea will result in a "judgment day" response.
He claimed there was a "systemic threat" presented by Kiev and the West's refusal to acknowledge Russian control of the area.
"Judgement Day will arrive quickly and harshly. According to Mr. Medvedev, it will be very difficult to disguise, according to Tass, the state-owned Russian news agency.
The Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, has instructed the armed forces to prioritize destroying Himars.
According to British intelligence, mercenaries from the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary group, were being employed to bolster Russia's frontline forces in an effort to reduce the number of casualties. The MoD said that the organization was "reducing recruitment criteria, hiring inmates and those on the blacklist."
The Ukrainian military has struggled to halt Russian advances in the eastern area of Donbas despite receiving support from western weapons.
If given enough cutting-edge weapons, some observers think Ukraine will eventually be able to retake the land Russia has won since February.