Defence Ministry predicts timeline for Crimea's liberation

The Ukrainian Armed Forces may return temporarily occupied Crimea as soon as December. The war between Ukraine and Russia may end by the end of spring, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Volodymyr Havrylov has said in an interview with Sky News.

Commenting on the prospects for peace talks with the Kremlin, the deputy defence minister said that they would take place only after Russia completely leaves Ukraine, including the territory of Crimea and parts of the country's east. Havrylov said:

There is a decision within society in Ukraine that we go all the way. No matter what scenario is on the table. People have paid a lot of blood, a lot of effort for what we have already achieved, and everyone knows that any delay or frozen conflict is just a continuation of this war against the existence of Ukraine as a nation

The general added that Ukraine will never stop fighting to victory, even given the threat of a Russian nuclear strike:

This is not a threat that will stop us from continuing our fight

At the same time, Gavrilov considers the threat of a nuclear strike itself to be low.