Rep. Adam Smith, R-Wash., the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, says he doesn't believe Ukraine can retake Crimea, though he didn't rule out a fight over the peninsula, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014.
"I think there's more of a consensus out there that people realize that Ukraine is not going to militarily retake Crimea," Smith said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday warned that an attempt by Ukraine to do so would be a red line for Russian President Vladimir Putin, a comment he made during a Zoom call with a group of experts, reports Politico.
The Russian president sees Crimea as fully part of Russia.
Gen. Mark Milley, the Joint Chiefs chair, has also expressed skepticism about the prospects of a Ukrainian advance.
"I still maintain that for this year it would be very, very difficult to militarily eject the Russian forces from ... every inch of Ukraine and occupied — or Russian-occupied — Ukraine," he said during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany on Jan. 20. "That doesn't mean it can't happen, doesn't mean it won't happen; but it'd be very, very difficult."
Smith said there will be a negotiation to end the war at some point.
"Best case scenario is some sort of 'one Ukraine' arrangement," he added. "The real question is, can we get security guarantees for Ukraine" that would allow the U.S. and partner nations to "continue to train and arm Ukraine so that Russia doesn't just do this again, once they've caught their breath and a couple of years."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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