The liberation of a group of villages under Russian occupation in recent weeks were “not the main event” in Kyiv’s planned attack, Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukraine defence minister, told the Financial Times.

“When it happens, you will all see it… Everyone will see everything,” he told FT in an interview published on Wednesday, brushing aside media coverage of slow progress against well-fortified Russian positions.

Ukraine’s main troop reserves, including most brigades recently trained in the West and equipped with modern NATO tanks and armoured vehicles, have yet to be used in the operation, Reznikov said.