Why Crimea Is ‘Decisive Terrain’ for Russia-Ukraine War

News Snapshot:

Crimea remains the grand prize in Ukraine's efforts to defeat Russia's full-scale invasion of the country, the former commander of U.S. Army Europe has told Newsweek, as Kyiv's troops continue a slow southward push that could prove pivotal in shaping the conclusion of a nine-year conflict thought to have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. "The ground part of this counteroffensive is obviously aimed at being able to sever, either by occupation or through fire, the so-called 'land bridge,'" retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges said, referring to the swath of occupied southern Ukraine now connecting Crimea to western Russia. The...