Reznikov points to signs of Russia's preparations for another "gesture of goodwill"

Reznikov made the statement in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine. 

"If you observe a number of public statements on Russian resources, you can see that such phrases are already being heard as, "It is probably time to end the 'special military operation', ‘we need to shift to defense,’ ‘we need to hold on to our 'newly acquired territories," Reznikov said. 

In his opinion, the Kremlin is looking for options to justify another failure in the war against Ukraine. 

"In case of another success of the Ukrainian army, which is absolutely expected for them as well, they need to come up with a way to "sell" it internally, how to present it to the people? Their expectations were also overheated: Kyiv in three days and the "special military operation" in three weeks. And although the propaganda in Russia is working perfectly, it is getting more and more complicated for them to keep it going every time," Reznikov said.

Finally, he added that the situation may force Russia to make another "gesture of goodwill," i.e., to get out of the occupied territories.

"This is not my prediction, but rather a speculation, but still, I would not be surprised if they have some kind of problem in the scenario, a serious catastrophic one, man-made, on the territory of Russia. Let's say something happens to a power plant, a hydroelectric power plant, a nuclear power plant, and there are risks for the population, and this will require immediate attention from the government, the accumulation of resources, including soldiers. This way they will supposedly be able to explain to people why they are ending active hostilities in Ukraine. In other words, they will have to voice a "gesture of goodwill" under the guise of some kind of cataclysm in the territory of the Russian Federation," Reznikov suggested.

• On May 2, Reznikov said that a successful counteroffensive would help the allies to defend the need for further support for Ukraine in their countries.