Ukrainian military forces promised to liberate the entire country from Russian invaders, including Crimea.
“We will liberate all of our territory, everything, including Crimea. Crimea is a strategic destination for Ukraine because it is a Ukrainian territory. But we will move step by step," Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told CNN in an interview.
Reznikov said the first step would be to stabilize the situation on the ground to prevent further losses to Russian troops. The second stage was to push Russian troops back to where they were before the invasion on February 24.
Only in the third stage, Reznikov stressed, will there be discussions with Ukrainian partners on how to liberate territories, including Crimea.
When asked whether efforts to retake Crimea by military means would further provoke Russia - which considers Crimea part of the Russian Federation - Reznikov said it was not a consideration.
"It doesn't matter. Because they (Russia) will see it in Kherson, they will see it in Zaporizhzhia, they will also see it in Mariupol... but this is Ukrainian land, and Crimea is also Ukrainian land, no matter what." said.
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