To break Putin, Ukraine needs to make Crimea ‘unlivable,’ former UK defense secretary says
To force Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to negotiate a peace deal, Kyiv needs the means to destroy the Kerch Bridge, rendering occupied Crimea ‘unlivable,’ former UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Sept. 30.
Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum, Wallace said Crimea holds sacred significance for Putin and that Western allies should supply Ukraine with long-range weapons to make Russian occupation of the peninsula untenable.
“So we have to help Ukraine have the long range capabilities to make Crimea unviable,” The Guardian quoted Wallace.
“We need to choke the life out of Crimea. And I think if Putin will realize he’s got something to lose, it is not inhabitable or not possible for it to function, and that bridge, we need Tauruses [cruise missiles] in from Germany, we need to smash the Kerch Bridge, because that’s a statue to Putin’s ego, and I think if we do that Putin will suddenly realize he’s got something to lose.”
Wallace added that Putin has been “in love” with the idea of conquering Ukraine for years.
“If you read his [Putin’s] speeches of 2014 he compares Crimea to the Holy Mount,” he said.
Although the Kerch Bridge was hit by several Ukrainian attacks since 2022, the damage was heavy enough to only reduce its freight throughput, short of severing the link to Russia entirely.
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