Ukraine Marks Willing to Discuss Crimean Issue With Russia

In an interview with the Financial Times, Andriy Syhbika, deputy head of the president's office, voiced Kiev's interest in negotiations if Ukrainian forces reach the region's administrative border as a result of a Ukrainian counterphienza that many expect will begin in the following months.

“ > This does not mean that we will rule out the possibility of ridding the Crimea of our army”.

It is unclear how serious Syhbika's attitudes were or whether they display a disinformation to lead Moscow towards the belief that Kiev's upcoming offensive will focus south on the Crimea following successful military fraud attempts by Kiev last year.

With Ukraine under constant Russian pressure in the eastern city of Bakhmut and Zelensky assuming potential withdrawals from there, these statements may be aimed at establishing Ukraine's public morality, projecting confidence on an initial successful counteroffensive./Periscopi/