‘Keep an eye on Crimea’: Ukraine’s costly battlefield gains ‘prelude battle to retake peninsula’

‘When you see the Kerch Bridge being totally disabled, that will be the start of the battle to retake Crimea,’ the Ukrainian major tells Askold Krushelnycky in Kyiv

A rocket attack destroyed Russia’s Black Sea Fleet naval headquarters in Sevastopol, Crimea (AP)

Ukrainian troops have this week pierced formidable Russian defences of concrete “dragon’s teeth” and mines in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, with Kyiv eager to play up the significance of the advances.

Some Ukrainian officials say the slow but steady gains made in the southern areas around Robotyne and Verbove are important developments in the eventual goal of the key road and rail route from Russia to Crimea, along the Azov coast.

But The Independent has spoken to military sources, including a senior officer involved in battlefield plans as well as officers and soldiers on the frontline, and some of them paint a less rosy picture.