Former commander of US forces in Europe, Ben Hodges, proposed his own plan for the neutralization of Russian troops in the temporarily occupied Crimea. He believes that it is necessary to inflict maximum defeat on the invaders with long-range weapons. And then there will be no need for a large-scale land attack on the peninsula.
Military expert Oleg Zhdanov noted that a similar plan for the liberation of Crimea had already been proposed by the Ukrainian expert community. He told Channel 24 about this. According to him, Ben Hodges materialized what Ukrainian analysts already know.
Liberation of Crimea with little effort
He believes that the de-occupation of Crimea can be implemented under 2 conditions:
- the Ukrainian military needs to reach the Azov coast by any means;
- to have in stock the long-range weapons that we expect from Western partners.
With its help, it is important to cut off the supply of Crimea from mainland Russia. For this, the ferry crossing and the remains of the Crimean bridge are taken under fire control,” the expert explained.
According to him, then the same methodical operation begins, which took place on the Right Bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson region – it is necessary to destroy Russian military facilities in Crimea.
“Thus, Crimea can be fired with little effort, because they won’t last long without security,” Zhdanov stressed.
Zhdanov suggested under what conditions the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be able to de-occupy Crimea: watch the video
We need western-style planes
However, experts believe that if Crimea is cut off from the supply of weapons from mainland Russia, the invaders can use transport aircraft, deliver weapons across the sea and across the territory where Ukraine still lacks its air defense.
If Ukraine has Western-style aircraft or at least modernized MiG-29s, then with the use of anti-radar missiles of the HARM type, fighter aircraft will do their job, Zhdanov stressed.
In his opinion, the main thing is to “suppress” the Crimean air defense system. And then not a single Russian aircraft will fly anywhere.
He also added that Ukrainian aircraft should be converted to use HARM missiles.
“Polish and Slovak MiG-29s already have suspensions for NATO weapons. If they are handed over to us, we will be able to use any NATO-style systems. And we can accomplish this task both in the air and on land,” said Oleg Zhdanov.
The plan for the de-occupation of Crimea from Ben Hodges / See the map from his social networks
Ben Hodges' Plan to Liberate Crimea: Important
- Ben Hodges published a plan to liberate the Crimean peninsula from Russian occupiers. The map, which he distributed, indicates exactly which objects of the invaders must first attack the Armed Forces of Ukraine in order for the de-occupation operation to be successful.
- From the statement of the former military man, it is clear that the number one priority for the Armed Forces of Ukraine should be the creation of conditions under which the occupiers simply will not be able to effectively defend themselves when the Ukrainian army enters the territory of the peninsula.
- Hodges noted that long-range precision strikes could render Crimea unsuitable for Russian defense. APU and others
- The map provided by Hodges shows Russian targets in the occupied cities, which, before the offensive, are likely to attack the Armed Forces with missiles, drones or detonating explosives. Actually, it is said about such goals: railway communication; aerodrome; Black Sea Fleet; unified communication between Russia and Crimea (Kerch ferry).
