Russia continues to build up its military grouping in the occupied Crimea. According to the preliminary plans of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, by 2025 the total number of Russian occupation forces on the peninsula should exceed 42 thousand people.
Taking into account the large-scale exercises conducted by Russian troops on the territory of the occupied peninsula from 2020 to 2021, we can say that the number of the Russian Armed Forces grouping in Crimea already exceeds 34 thousand people.
Before the occupation of Crimea, the Russian military group consisted of 10-12 thousand people. That means that during the period of occupation, the grouping annually increased by 3 thousand people.
Due to the vast human and technical resources of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the increase in this grouping can be stopped not so much by political methods as by the depletion of the natural resources of the peninsula.
It is obvious that the increase in the size of the grouping of the Russian occupation forces, the saturation of the peninsula with equipment, the construction of new military units, military bases, as well as housing for military personnel in places not foreseen for this by the general plan, is depleting the water resources of the Crimea, intended primarily for the civilians.
Such uncontrolled militarization poses a serious threat not only to Ukraine, but also to absolutely any country in the Black Sea basin. The main thing is that it cannot be stopped by political means. Under the current conditions, it is only possible to create a counterbalance of force in the region that could restrain the imperial ambitions of the Kremlin.