The White House declared the irrelevance of the issue of ownership of the Crimea

Now the issue of Crimea’s ownership is irrelevant, the United States is focused on helping Ukrainian troops return territories along the line of contact, but this issue will be considered in the future. Such a statement did Assistant to the President of the United States for National Security Jake Sullivan in an interview with NBC News.

“The question of Crimea is a question that will happen in the future. This is what we will come to,” he said.

Sullivan added that now the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) are seeking to achieve short-term goals, including the return of territories along the line of contact with US support. When asked about the possible participation of Washington in discussing the status of Crimea, he stressed that the United States is not going to discuss the sovereign issues of another country.

The day before, February 26, Sullivan was unable to answer a question about hypothetical US support for Ukraine if Kyiv tries to start hostilities in the Crimea. He added that Washington is now providing assistance to Kyiv so that the Ukrainian side can “strengthen its position at the negotiating table in the future.” February 25 US President Joe Biden admittedthat Ukraine will be able to return Crimea under its control after the “transitional period”.

Crimea became part of Russia in 2014 after a referendum. According to its results, 96.77% of voters in the Republic of Crimea and 95.6% in Sevastopol were in favor of joining Russia. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that the issue of Crimea is “finally closed.”

Nevertheless, Kyiv continues to insist that Crimea is Ukrainian territory and accuses Russia of “occupying” the peninsula. The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly spoken about plans to “return” Crimea, including by military means. In particular, on February 24, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine was preparing for a military seizure of the peninsula. To this, the head of the Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, replied that Zelensky “can’t see [Крыма] like your ears.” In the State Duma emphasizedthat Kyiv has no opportunities for a military seizure of the peninsula.

Since February 24, 2022, Russia has been conducting a special operation in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the protection of the inhabitants of Donbass, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, its goals. During the special operation, Russian troops took full control of the LPR, as well as most of the DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. Subsequently, these territories became part of Russia.