In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Ukraine’s defense minister said Moscow maintains a force of about 40,000 men in the Kherson region and that his intelligence suggests that a significant number remain in the city center, on the outskirts and on the right bank of the river. Dnieper.
The withdrawal of Russian forces from Kherson is expected to take at least a week, according to the estimation of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Ukraine’s defense minister said Moscow maintains a force of about 40,000 men in the Kherson region and that his intelligence suggests that a significant number remain in the city center, on the outskirts and on the right bank of the river. Dnieper.
“It is not so easy to withdraw these troops in 1-2 days. It will take at least a week,” he estimated.
He dismissed as “crazy” the scenario that the Russian army might blow up the Kakhovka dam during its withdrawal, stressing that in such a case it would flood areas under the control of the invaders.
“Terrorist Doctrine” under General Surovikin
Ukraine’s defense minister has accused the new commander of Russia’s invasion forces of practicing “terrorist doctrine” by bombing civilians and vital infrastructure.
Asked whether Moscow’s strategy has changed since the appointment of General Sergei Surovykin as commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, Reznikov was unequivocal: “Yes, it has changed. Because it resorts to terrorist tactics against civilians and infrastructure.”
“They don’t launch a missile or two against Ukraine, like they used to. They launch 40 in one day, take a short break and continue… Again and again…,” he explained.
Russia’s nuclear threat
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov downplayed the threat of Russia using nuclear weapons, claiming that even the Kremlin does not know the current state of its nuclear arsenal.
“What is the technical assessment of their nuclear weapons? Do you know? No. Me neither. They don’t know either. Because the last test they did was in the 1990s in Kazakhstan, over 30 years ago,” Reznikov said.
He noted that he hopes India and China — which cooperate with Russia in various fields — have already warned Putin that using nuclear weapons is a “red line.”
“I don’t think (the Russians) will use them. However, when you have as a neighbor a monkey who has a grenade, you should take into account all the risks”, added the Ukrainian minister.
RES-EMP
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