Reznikov comments on likelihood of Russia capturing Kyiv

He made the statement in an interview with a Ukrainian media outlet.

Reznikov was asked to comment on the statement of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi about a possible repeat attack on Kyiv.

"He (Zaluzhnyi - ed.) should predict the worst-case scenario and be prepared for it so that it does not happen," the Defense Minister replied.

At the same time, he does not deny that Russia would really like to capture Kyiv.

"An attempt to attack Kyiv is in the Russians' mentality. It is their dream that Ukraine should submit. And for this, they need the capital to fall," Reznikov said.

"But this does not mean that their dream will be realized. It was not realized in February or March last year," he added.

As an example, the minister cited Bakhmut, Donetsk region, which had a population of only 40,000 at the time of the invasion. Russian troops have not been able to capture it for 5 months, Reznikov reminded.

"And the city of Kyiv is an agglomeration that unofficially had up to 4 million people before the invasion. Someone evacuated, someone went abroad with children, wives, and so on. That is, there is a majority of the population here that is ready to resist," the Defense Minister emphasized.

"What kind of resource (can be used to capture Kyiv - ed.)? So this is a 5-star problem," he added.

• Earlier, the FT reported that Russia intends to launch another large-scale offensive to capture Donbas in the next 10 days.