'Crimean fortress is a myth'. Budanov says recapturing peninsula is easier than Donbas

Reclaiming occupied Crimea through military means is easier than retaking occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, according to Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ministry of Defense, during a conversation with graduates of the Kyiv School of Economics, as reported by Forbes.

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In his opinion, retaking Crimea is "much easier" than Donbas, where the front line stretches 1000 km with a depth of over 200 km.

Budanov said that states that wanted to take Crimea always succeeded because "the isthmuses were not held and everything collapsed at once," adding that "the Crimean fortress is a myth."

The intelligence chief is confident that reclaiming the peninsula is possible by destroying communications from the Russian side and exerting pressure from mainland Ukraine, as Crimea would then be isolated.

"When I say we'll enter Crimea, we're already entering," he stated.

On August 6, special forces from the Artan active measures unit and the DIU Naval Center conducted an operation on the Tendra Spit in the temporarily occupied part of the Kherson Oblast. The distance from there to temporarily occupied Crimea is about 75 km in a straight line.

Read also: CNN report details intel operation in Crimea, labeling Korchynskyi mastermind behind raid