“The theme of the “return” of Crimea is an ideological trump card up its sleeve ... in order to understand, among other things, how far you can go and where Russia sees the line, after which it will give a very harsh reaction to the enemy,” TASS quotes him.
According to the deputy, the aggressiveness of the rhetoric of Western countries and Ukraine usually increases with the appearance of problems at the front for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Belik noted that this time the capture of Soledar was indicative, which destroyed the carefully built image of Ukraine as a victorious country.
Earlier, US State Department spokesman Ned Price commented on the possibility of Ukraine using Western-supplied weapons for strikes in Crimea.
At the same time, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that the United States does not prohibit Kyiv from using American weapons against Crimea.
The Kremlin noted that Crimea is an integral part of Russia and claims to Russian territory will receive a proper response.
Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum held there in March 2014: the majority of residents voted for reunification with Russia.