Kyiv Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that it would take at least a week for Russia to withdraw its troops from the southern city of Kherson, and that winter would slow operations on the battlefield, giving both sides a chance to regroup, News.ro quoted.

On the other hand, he admits that the Russian army has become more disciplined after the operation in Ukraine by General Serhii Surovikin, whom Reznikov accuses of using “terrorist tactics.”

In an interview in Kyiv, Oleksiy Reznikov stated that Russia has 40,000 troops in the Kherson region and still has forces in the city, around the city and on the right bank of the Dnieper.

“It is not so easy to withdraw these troops from Kherson in a day or two. (It will take) at least a week,” he told Reuters, adding that at the same time it was difficult to predict what Russia’s actions would be.

Why would it be “madness” for Moscow to blow up the great Kakhovskaya dam

On Wednesday, Russia announced it would withdraw from the west bank of the Dnieper, which includes the city of Kherson, the only regional capital Moscow has seized since invading Ukraine in February.

Reznikov admits that such a withdrawal would free up forces in both camps, which could then be sent to fight elsewhere. Ukraine, he said, has 1 million security and defense forces to guard the “unfriendly” 2,500-kilometer border with Belarus, Russia and occupied Ukrainian territories.

On the other hand, Reznikov played down the threat of a Russian nuclear attack on Ukraine and explained why it would be “madness” for Moscow to blow up the large Kakhovka dam in the south of the country after it leaves.

According to him, such an action will lead to the flooding of the same territories controlled by Moscow, and will also block their access to fresh water through the channel from the Dnipro to the annexed Crimea.

“If you check the landscape in this area, you will see that the west bank is higher and the east bank is lower. This means that the water will flow to the east of that bank and will pose a risk to its own troops,” he said.

Both sides of the conflict accused each other of plans to destroy the dam, Reuters reminds.

Russia uses terror tactics against civilians

Reznikov accused the new commander of the Russian invasion force of applying the “terrorist doctrine” through heavy bombing of civilians and critical infrastructure.

However, he acknowledged that the Russian army under General Sergei Surovikin appears to have become more disciplined since his appointment in October. When asked whether Moscow’s tactics had changed during Surovikin’s time, Reznikov answered in the affirmative.

“Yes, this is a change, because it uses terrorist tactics against the civilian population and infrastructure facilities using cruise missiles, conventional missiles and drones, special Iranian drones,” the Minister of Defense of Ukraine noted.

“They no longer send one or two missiles to Ukraine, as before, but use 40 a day, and then wait – and then again, and again,” he said, quoted by News.ro.

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