A spokesman for Ukraine’s defence ministry has said its troops have pushed back Russian forces from some areas around Kyiv but warned Moscow retains hope of surrounding and seizing the Ukrainian capital.

“In some sectors the enemy was driven back by more than 70km (44 miles), in some sectors the enemy is at a distance of 35km (21 miles),” Oleksander Motuzyanyk told a televised briefing.

Without citing evidence, Motuzyanyk also claimed that the Kremlin had been sending additional military equipment to Belarus to reinforce its troops attacking Kyiv.