With the liberation of Kherson City and the western part of Kherson province, the Ukrainian forces are getting ready for the next phase of the war, which would take them to the eastern bank of the Dnipro River and then Crimea.

Ukrainian forces are targeting and taking out Russian lines of supply and communication all across the southern part of the battlefield, an important first step before a ground attack on the annexed peninsula.

But in the West, there are some reservations about pushing the Russians out of Crimea. Western leaders fear that a Ukrainian counteroffensive against Crimea would push Russian President Vladimir Putin beyond his limits and force him to do something unreasonable, such as the deployment of a tactical nuclear weapon.

[First off, Ukrainian intervention in Crimea would not be an “invasion,” because Crimea is Ukrainian. Putin illegally annexed it in a move that nearly no nation has recognized as legitimate. It would be an attempt at liberation, not an invasion. And the answer to the question is clearly yes. — Ed]