Ukraine is readying itself to fight off a ‘million’ more Russian soldiers as Vladimir Putin plots a fresh all-out invasion on Kyiv.
A top commander has warned that the Ukrainian capital is once again in Russia ’s sights and said the Kremlin is likely to make a second attempt to invade it from the north.
Major General Andrii Kovalchuk urged NATO allies to bolster their support for Ukraine as they prepare themselves for the coming battle that could see a Russian army of a ‘million’ soldiers.
The 48-year-old even warned that Putin might launch the strike on the anniversary of the first, failed, attempt to take Kyiv in February of this year.
The war veteran promised that Ukraine’s troops were ready and that they “live with the thought that they will attack again", he said.
Speaking to Sky News, he said he suspected Russia would once again try and approach through Belarus, to give them a closer run to the capital.
He said: "We foresee such options, such scenarios. We are preparing for it. We live with the thought that they will attack again. This is our task.
"We are considering a possible offensive from Belarus at the end of February, maybe later. We are preparing for it. We are investigating. We look at where they accumulate strength and means. We are preparing."
Russia embarrassingly misfired on their first attempt to seize Kyiv, after reports suggested the country’s top brass thought their troops would be welcomed into the Ukrainian capital.
Instead, they met fierce resistance that saw them eventually abandon their efforts to seize Kyiv.
But now, it is feared Putin could have bulked up his troops on the frontline, readying for the attack.
One of Russia’s top brass, senior military commissar Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Fotin, announced in a TV interview that Russia’s period of conscription would be extended to two years.
He would later deny he said it but this could potentially increase Russia’s forces ahead of the second attack.
The conscription has not yet been officially announced but there have been reports that Putin is waiting until next year to reveal it.
General Kovalchuk said: "I think Putin is thinking about it. And we cannot rule out such an option. We have to be ready for it.
"It will no longer be the case that they [the Russians] will simply walk in, as was the case on 24 February (2022).
“We are preparing for it. We are investigating. We look at where they accumulate strength and means. I believe that our position and the position of our partners today should be clear.
"If Putin carries out a full mobilisation, our partners are ready to provide us with all the force and means to stop not an army of 300,000, but an army of a million."
He also called on the west to continue and up their support for Ukraine. He said: "There is a corresponding counteraction to the enemy's actions.
"We are sure that our partners will help us in this matter - those who want [us] to win. Because it is not only Ukraine winning today, but the entire civilised world. And we must win."
He vowed that the Ukrainian military would win back "every square centimetre of territory".
He said: "I would like to solve all the issues this year. But I believe that next year we will bring everything to a logical conclusion."
General Kovalchuk is not the first to suggest such an attack might be coming in 2023.
Ukraine’s military commander, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi warned around 200,000 soldiers could be on standby to storm Kyiv via Belarus, the BBC reported.
