There is a large grouping of Ukrainian troops in Kyiv, so the Russian servicemen will not be able to surround the city or take it by force, adviser to the head of the President's Office Oleksiy Arestovych has said.

"I can assure the residents of Kyiv, which I myself am in, and my relatives, that it is impossible to surround Kyiv. It is impossible to take it. You do not have to worry about that. There is a big enough group of our troops operating near Kyiv and in Kyiv that are destroying the enemy," Arestovych said on air of the telethon on Thursday.

He said the situation on the battlefield "is steadily leaning towards Ukraine."