Ukraine LIVE: Russia warns US its ‘provocative’ missile move could trigger response | World | News

Russia will try again to capture Kyiv as the situation in Ukraine is “balancing on a fine line”, the head of Ukraine’s Armed Forces has claimed. 

General Valery Zaluzhny, 49, said that Russian forces, despite being poorly equipped and not necessarily well-trained, “still present a problem” simply due to their sheer numbers. 

In an interview with the Economist published today, Gen Zaluzhny said: “They may not be that well equipped, but they still present a problem for us. 

“We estimate that they have a reserve of 1.2m-1.5m people … The Russians are preparing some 200,000 fresh troops. I have no doubt they will have another go at Kyiv.”

In light of the first attack at the start of the invasion, however, the Ukrainian war leader said their forces had calculated how many tanks, artillery and soldiers would be needed to repel a second attack. 

He added that the Russian strikes of energy infrastructures across Ukraine had pushed the defending nation and its civilians to “the edge”, expressing concern that if the power grids are destroyed, “that is when soldiers’ wives and children start freezing”. 

He said: “In my personal opinion, I am not an energy expert but it seems to me we are on the edge. We are balancing on a fine line. 

“And if [the power grid] is destroyed … that is when soldiers’ wives and children start freezing. And such a scenario is possible. What kind of mood the fighters will be in, can you imagine? Without water, light and heat, can we talk about preparing reserves to keep fighting?”

Concerning the next few months of fighting, he suggested Russia were carrying out such widespread and brutal strikes to for a “pause [in battlefield combat] by any means”. 

He said: “[Russia]  needs it for one simple purpose: they need time to gather resources and create new potential so they can continue to fulfil their goals.”