Zelenskyy says Russia needed up to 400,000 troops to capture Kyiv
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
Russia made a mistake during its offensive on Kyiv, but it was not because of a “loser general,” as US President Donald Trump put it, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on The Diary Of A CEO podcast.
“I don’t know what President Trump is talking about. They surrounded Kyiv. They reached Kyiv. They occupied towns along the way to Kyiv. It wasn’t because some general was an idiot,” Zelenskyy said.
How many troops did Russia need to capture Kyiv
The president explained how many troops Russia would have needed to seize the Ukrainian capital.
“They needed around 300,000–400,000 troops to take Kyiv. They needed twice as many people,” he said.
“Why? Because what does taking Kyiv mean? When you capture those towns along the way to Kyiv, you have to leave troops there to hold them,” Zelenskyy explained.
Russia’s biggest mistake
“They never even imagined there would be resistance. That was their biggest mistake,” the president stressed.
He described what happened when Russian military vehicles entered Ukrainian cities.
“Armored vehicles were driving through the streets, and people were setting them on fire. They were particularly shocked when they were heading toward the capital and people were simply throwing burning debris at them. I mean, people were setting their armor on fire,” Zelenskyy said.
The president said he believed the person who gave the order simply did not fully understand what was happening.
“He didn’t understand what it would take. And that was the main thing,” he added.
As RBC-Ukraine previously reported, Zelenskyy said that if Ukraine gave up Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the war could spread farther, toward Dnipro and Pavlohrad.
According to the president, a ceasefire would be a major compromise Ukraine could agree to, and he said this had been communicated to US President Donald Trump repeatedly.
