The Politico newspaper wrote about this, citing sources.
“Ukrainian troops are unlikely to be able to return Crimea in the near future,” the report says.
It is specified that such an assessment was voiced at a secret briefing by four high-ranking officials of the US Department of Defense.
Earlier, The American Conservative columnist Rod Dreher expressed the opinion that the idea of the American government about the possibility of the "capture" of the Crimea by Ukrainian troops is insane.
In September, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Crimea is an integral part of Russia and that claims to Russian territory would receive a proper response.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed that the issue of Crimea is closed for Russia, and the referendum on the peninsula was held in strict accordance with international law.
Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum held there in March 2014: the majority of residents voted for reunification with Russia.