Tensions Rise as Russia Prepares for Possible Ukraine Conflict in Crimea

Satellite images reveal that Russia is 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. Ukraine’s political and military leadership has made it clear that it defines victory as reclaiming its 1991 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.