US supports Ukraine’s attacks on military objects in Crimea

"Those are legitimate targets. Ukraine is hitting them and we are supporting that," she said about Russia’s military facilities in Crimea, on February 16, according to TASS.

"Ukraine is not going to be safe unless Crimea is at a minimum militarized," Nuland said at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, adding that this is "part of ensuring that there is a sustainable deterrent [of Russia]."

Meanwhile, the Under Secretary of State virtually rejected the attempts by Aaron David Miller, a former American diplomat and now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who hosted the discussion, to note that Crimea is "the red line" for Moscow. "I am not going to prejudge where the Ukrainians choose to fight or how they choose to deal with Crimea over the short term, medium term or long term. We recognize Crimea as Ukraine," she said.

Asked whether Washington’s goals coincide with Kyiv’s wish to recover territories, Nuland said: "I think in this next phase in terms of what the Ukrainians want to do on the battlefield and what we are enabling them to plan to do, yes." Kyiv needs to return "significant chunks of territory <…> before you even get to the question of Crimea," and that's what it is "focused on now," she noted. "Our position remains that they are owed and do all of their territories within their international borders. We have never recognized Russia's hold on Crimea," Under Secretary of State added.