Kharkiv mayor comments on possible Russian offensive on city

Kharkiv mayor said this in an interview with LIGA.net.

Answering a question about whether a Russian offensive on Kharkiv is possible, Terekhov said: "It doesn't matter what the enemy is preparing. What matters is how we will fight back. And to do this, we need many factors, first of all, military ones."

"Regarding the exhaustion of Kharkiv - Russians won't succeed. There's no panic in the city. Russia's intimidation tactics don't work - people are united," he added.

Commenting on the possibility of evacuation from Kharkiv, Terekhov said he sees no reason for it.

"The evacuation is being carried out from the area where the fighting is ongoing. And these people are going to Kharkiv. Currently, the city has 1.3 million residents. So far, neither we nor the military see any reason to evacuate Kharkiv. This is a part of the Russian PSYOP to intimidate and make the citizens nervous," the mayor said.

He also described what he believes to be the worst-case scenario for Kharkiv.

"The worst case scenario for me is constant air attacks on Kharkiv. That is why we need modern air defense systems," Terekhov said.

"As for Russia's offensive on Kharkiv, it is an enemy information operation. We should not support and spread their messages," he summarized.

• According to Medusa, Russian security forces believe that the aggressor country can occupy Kharkiv, but the decision to launch a new large-scale offensive has not yet been made.
• At the same time, the Center for Countering Disinformation said that the information about Russia's alleged preparations for an offensive on Kharkiv is not true.