The commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces said that Russia has not abandoned the goal of conquering Kyiv

Russia has not abandoned its ambitions to capture Kiev, and the defense of the Ukrainian capital remains one of the main tasks of the army, said the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Alexander Pavlyuk, in an interview with The Economist.

According to Pavlyuk, who was appointed commander in February 2024, one of his most urgent tasks is the creation of ten new brigades to prepare for the Russian offensive. Part of these forces will be involved in the defense of the capital of Ukraine. “The defense of Kyiv remains one of our main tasks, no matter how difficult it is in the east. This is the heart of Ukraine, and we know that in the future the defense of the capital will play a key role,” Pavlyuk said.

At the same time, the level of threat two and a half years after the start of a full-scale invasion, according to Pavlyuk, has fundamentally changed. In his opinion, the Russian army can no longer carry out large-scale raids on several fronts. In addition, it uses missiles just off the factory line, and not from the large reserves it had at the beginning of the war. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to him, have significantly increased their strength during this time.

The critical phase of the war, according to Pavlyuk, will come in the next two months, when American aid is just beginning to reach the front line, and the Russian command is throwing all available forces into battle to test Ukraine's exhausted and under-supplied troops.

Pavlyuk believes that the Russian army will continue to concentrate its main efforts in eastern Ukraine in the area of ​​Lugansk and Donetsk. At the same time, the loss of the city of Chasov Yar near Bakhmut, which is considered an important strategic point and has become the center of active fighting, in his opinion, will not be decisive, since it is “an ordinary urban settlement.”

• Alexander Pavlyuk took over as commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in February 2024, replacing Alexander Syrsky, who, in turn, became commander-in-chief. At the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Pavlyuk headed the Kyiv Regional Military Administration for several months, and also commanded the Kyiv defense forces for a year.