How Russia Is Preparing Crimea for Ukraine's Counteroffensive

Russian troops in occupied Crimea are reportedly preparing for Kyiv's expected spring counteroffensive, which may seek to push through Moscow's lines in southern Ukraine and imperil the strategic peninsula.

Russian units all along the 800-mile front have been preparing new defensive positions for several months, awaiting Ukraine's next counter push, while their comrades grind forward in bloody offensives in the eastern Donetsk region.

Kyiv is hoping to maximize Russian losses in the defense, exhausting Moscow's units before punching through their lines on the offense with the help of new NATO heavy armor and fresh alliance-trained troops.