The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, commented on the information about a possible Russian offensive on Kharkiv.

In an interview with Ukrinform, he noted that any information about Russia's preparations for offensive actions, including Western media assessments of a new threat of an offensive on Kharkiv, cannot be ignored.

"Therefore, we are taking all measures to adequately respond to such a possibility. Today, we are carrying out a large complex of works on the fortification of territories and positions, installing a complex system of barriers, and planning the use of our troops in the event of such actions," Syrskyi said.

He reminded that the Armed Forces already have experience of combat operations in Kharkiv region.

"We managed to "calculate" the enemy and liberate a significant part of the Kharkiv region. It was then that the Russian front collapsed. If the Russians move there again, Kharkiv will become a fatal city for them," noted the Commander-in-Chief.

In addition, Syrskyi said that the Armed Forces "significantly reduced" the request for mobilization of half a million people.

When asked by a journalist whether the figure of 500,000 mobilized, which the General Staff had previously requested, was "real" now, the Chief of Staff replied: "After reviewing our internal resources and clarifying the combat composition of the Armed Forces, this figure has been significantly reduced. We expect that we will have enough people capable of defending our homeland. We are talking not only about the mobilized, but also about volunteers."

He noted that the audit of units not involved in combat operations made it possible to "free up thousands of servicemen and send them to combat units."