Russian soldier warns Putin's military may lose Crimea

Ukrainian military intelligence on Sunday published audio of what it said was an intercepted phone call of a Russian soldier detailing plans he heard of Ukraine soon undertaking a major attempt to reclaim Crimea.

In the audio posted by Ukraine's military intelligence directorate (GUR) on its Telegram channel, a man identified as a member of the Russian military reportedly told a friend he heard Kyiv would deploy a force of 150,000 troops along with tanks to the peninsula. Newsweek could not verify the authenticity of the audio.

Crimea is recognized as Ukrainian territory by many countries, but Russia invaded and annexed the peninsula in 2014. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his war against Ukraine in February 2022, the region has been the site of frequent attacks, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly vowed to fully liberate the land.