Czech President: Ukraine and Europe cannot take back Crimea from Russia

Ukraine accuses Russia of deploying heavy troops on the border.

Czech President Milos Zeman, in an interview with Barrandov TV channel, said that Ukraine and the world should accept the fact that the Crimean peninsula has "once again become part of Russia".

"The Crimean peninsula is part of Russia. This is a fact. Ukraine and a part of the international community who disagree with this should accept reality," he said.

The Czech president also said that sanctions against Russia do not affect Russia's economy and politics, and said that the views of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on restrictive measures against Moscow have also changed.

"Obviously, they understand that the sanctions do not affect the Russian economy and politics, so their views have changed significantly. If these sanctions are not effective, then perhaps they should be lifted," said President Zeman.

The statement was made as Europe has just extended sanctions against Russia for another six months over Russia's reunification of the Crimean peninsula and failure to implement the Minsk peace agreements.

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko also said that Kiev could accept Russia's sovereignty over the Crimean peninsula. But this would not be a free recognition. In return for this recognition, Russia would have to agree to implement the Minsk agreements to resolve the peace in eastern Ukraine.

Mr. Poroshenko believes that the Minsk agreement essentially recognized Russia as an aggressor country. Mr. Poroshenko has long maintained a non-dialogue stance with Russia. This stance of his did not really receive the majority of supporters and he lost in the latest presidential election.

In a related development, Ukraine accused Russia of deploying about 82,000 regular combat troops along the border in Donetsk, Lugansk and Crimea.

There are currently more than 25 battalion-sized tactical groups along the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Rostov region, and the formation of a motorized rifle division continues, said Andriy Gudz, head of the Verification Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

UAWire quoted Mr. Gudz speaking at a meeting in Kiev saying that Russia “conceals the presence of modern aircraft in Crimea, which means militarizing the peninsula.”

Regarding the increased military deployment in the border area with Ukraine and the Black Sea, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that Russia is strengthening its troops in Crimea to protect the territory of the peninsula and Russia's interests in the Black Sea.