'From a military perspective,' Crimea easier to retake than Donbas, Budanov says.

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Liberating Crimea would be easier than retaking Donbas due to the peninsula's strategic features, Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in comments reported by Forbes Ukraine on Aug.

7. Russia has occupied Crimea and part of the eastern Donbas region since the start of its aggression in 2014. "From a military perspective, it is much easier to retake Crimea than Donbas, which has a front longer than 1,000 kilometers and a depth of over 200 kilometers," Budanov said during a speech at the Kyiv School of Economics.

"Crimea has two entry points. One from the Russian side and one from ours: the Crimean (Kerch) Bridge and the land isthmus." Through the combined pressure by Ukrainian troops and the destruction of Russia's communication links, the peninsula can be easily isolated, he explained.  

Russia's key connection to the peninsula has been the Kerch Bridge, connecting eastern Crimea to Krasnodar Krai. The bridge itself and the nearby ferry crossing have been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian forces, disrupting Russian military logistics. Budanov hinted last week that Ukraine is working on a "complex solution" that could destroy the Kerch Bridge in the coming months.

To reduce their dependency on the bridge, Russia has been constructing railway connections linking the peninsula to Russia through territories in southeastern Ukraine occupied after 2022. Budanov said that the Isthmus of Perekop, a narrow strip of land connecting Crimea to Ukraine's Kherson Oblast and currently fully in Russian hands, is the region's key vulnerability. Should Russia lose the isthmus, Crimea's defenses will quickly collapse, he added.

The intelligence chief rejected Russia's claims that the peninsula is impossible to retake, reminding that it has been conquered several times in history during various conflicts. Ukraine has repeatedly said it aims to liberate all of its Russian-occupied territories, including Crimea. Kyiv's forces have been mainly on the defensive in recent months, however.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive in 2023 achieved only incremental and often temporary gains, while Russia has ramped up pressure in the east, capturing villages and key strongholds in Donetsk Oblast.

Earlier this week, Ukraine has gone on the offensive in at least one sector, reportedly launching cross-border incursions into Russia's Kursk Oblast.

Ukraine's unprecedented attack on Kursk Oblast brings war back to Russian soil

In a rare example of maneuver operations at this stage of the war, Ukraine reportedly managed to advance up to 15 kilometers into Russia's Kursk Oblast.