In an interview with the BBC, Andrei Kelin said Ukraine continued to fight but claimed "the resistance is more feeble and feeble".
Russian troops, he said, were gaining more terrain every day, adding: "The end of this phase will mean the end of Ukraine." Russia is thought to control about 18% of Ukraine and has been making slow but steady advances over the past year.
Kelin also described the conflict as "a proxy war led by the United Kingdom's government", which by providing weapons is "killing Russian soldiers and civilians".
The comments came as Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, renewed his appeal to western countries for air-defence systems.
Ukraine is losing territory in its eastern Donbas region to Russia's invading forces but has yet to convince western allies to provide it with long-range missiles to strike Russian military targets.
This story is from the October 25, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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This story is from the October 25, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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