Antony Blinken 'warns Ukraine' against retaking Crimea

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, has warned a Ukrainian attempt to retake Crimea would be a red line for Vladimir Putin that could escalate the conflict, it has been reported.

Mr Blinken told a group of experts that the US is not seeking to actively encourage Kyiv to reclaim the peninsula that was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.

The US’s top diplomat said the decision should be left up to Ukraine to decide alone.

It came after Ukrainian drones were downed over Sevastopol, a major port home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet, according to the city's governor.

Kyiv's armed forces have reportedly launched a series of covert operations to hit Russian military targets on the Crimean peninsula.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly pledged to regain the Russian-controlled territory on the southern tip of Ukraine.

But Mr Blinken has always publicly expressed reservations at the prospect of Kyiv launching a serious attempt to recapture Crimea.

Instead, he believes Joe Biden's administration should focus on supporting Ukraine's armed forces in the east of the country, where Russia is concentrating its fresh offensive efforts.

The US secretary of state reiterated the long-held position during a Zoom call with a group of exports, according to the Politico news website.

According to two people involved in the discussions, Mr Blinken said Kyiv's resources would be better used elsewhere on the battlefield than making an attempt to capture Crimea.

The comments are likely to spark anger in Ukraine given Mr Zelensky's state war aims of liberating the peninsula.

Kyiv has said it would be able to use US-donated Army Tactical Missile Systems, which have a range of nearly 200 miles, and could be used to strike heavily fortified Russian positions in Crimea.

So far, Washington has said it doesn't have sufficient stockpiles to deliver the long-range missiles to Ukraine, but Mr Blinken's comments also shine a light on US reluctance over the system.

Military experts have suggested that recapturing Crimea would be a war in itself because it is defended by tens of thousands of Russian troops dug in defensive positions.

Punching through those lines would need significant amounts of artillery and heavy armour donated from Western countries.

General Mark Milley, the US's top military commander, said it would be "very, very difficult" to militarily eject Russian forces from occupied areas, including Crimea.

Senior Pentagon officials earlier this month told the House Armed Services Committee that Ukraine would be unable to recapture Crimea imminently.

It is believed Ukraine would be better off attempting to put a stranglehold on the peninsula by targeting the Kerch Strait bridge to mainland Russia, the land bridge through the Donbas and the Sevastopol naval base.

“This would leave a lot of Russian forces without adequate support, without Ukraine actually trying to overrun Crimea, and it would still be a severe blow to Russia’s military effort," Kurt Volker, a former US special envoy for Ukraine, said.

Last summer, Ukraine appeared to make a start on that plan, with attacks on the Kerch Bridge and a number of military bases.