Ukraine likely to face bloody Crimea fight, satellite images show

An analysis of satellite images by Al Jazeera has revealed that Russian forces are fortifying the Crimean peninsula in anticipation of a Ukrainian attempt to recapture it. Experts say that those defences are likely to make any such effort difficult and bloody. As the war grinds on for more than a year, Ukraine's political and military leadership has made it clear that it defines victory as reclaiming its 1991 borders, which Russia had recognised. The United Nations and all of Ukraine's Western allies also recognise those borders, which include Crimea. The investigation by Al Jazeera's Sanad news verification and monitoring unit found that between February and March, the Crimean border and surrounding areas were transformed into a fortified barrier ahead of an expected spring counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces.