Kyiv has pushed to retake Crimea since the war began in February 2022, after the region was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine’s gains from their southern counter-offensive could allow them to push into Crimea last month.
Speaking at a recent meeting of French ambassadors in Paris, Mr Kuleba said: “Having entrenched on its [Robotyne’s] flanks, we are opening the way to Tokmak and, eventually, Melitopol and the administrative border with Crimea.”
Kuleba stressed Ukraine’s counter-offensive, which was launched in early June, was continuing at the time, but admitted it was an “extremely difficult” task.
