Ukraine will ‘test and use’ any non-banned weapons to retake Crimea: official

KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine will “test and use” any non-banned weapons to liberate its territory, including Russian-occupied Crimea, the head of its National Security and Defence Council said on Friday.

Oleksiy Danilov’s comment comes with Kyiv expected to mount a counteroffensive in the coming weeks or months aimed at retaking Russian-held territory in the south and east.

“Crimea is the territory of Ukraine, and we will test and use there any weapons not prohibited by international laws, that will help liberate our territories,” he tweeted.

Kyiv’s Western partners have provided crucial military support, including modern battle tanks and armoured vehicles, since Russia’s full-scale invasion last year.

But they have stopped short of providing heavier weapons, such as F-16 fighter jets, which Ukraine has asked for.

Kyiv has also been developing its own weapons, such as drones and the Neptune missile, which it says it used to sink the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet last year.

Russia seized control of the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Toby Chopra and Alex Richardson)