Ukraine aims to amass ‘million-strong army’ to recapture south, says defence minister
Ukraine plans a “million-strong army” equipped with Nato weapons to retake the south of the country from occupying Russians, the defence minister says.
Retaking the areas around the Black Sea coast was vital to the country’s economy, Oleksii Reznikov said.
However, the comments are more of a rallying cry than a concrete plan.
The defence minister’s remarks come as Russia makes progress in taking territory in the eastern Donbas region.
An attack on a block of flats on Sunday killed at least 18 people – with more than 20 feared buried under the rubble.
Rescuers are still looking for survivors at the site of the five-storey building in Chasiv Yar, near the city of Kramatorsk, in Donetsk region which has been the focus of a Russian push.
In his interview, Mr Reznikov praised the UK for being “key” in the transition from providing Ukraine with Soviet-era weapons to Nato-standard air defence systems and ammunition.
He said weapons deliveries needed to be sped up.
“We need more, quickly, to save the lives of our soldiers. Each day we’re waiting for howitzers, we can lose a hundred soldiers,” he said.
However, Dr Jack Watling, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, cautioned against the figure.
“It’s not a million strong force that will be conducting a counter-attack,” Mr Watling told agencies.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES