Ukrainian troops could arrive in annexed Crimea by Christmas and defeat Russian forces by spring, according to a senior military official.

Deputy defence minister, Volodymyr Havrylov, vowed Ukraine would never stop fighting, almost exactly nine months since Vladimir Putin’s invasion began on February 24.

The retired major general said Kyiv had ruled out peace talks with the Kremlin until its soldiers had left every inch of Ukraine – including Crimea, seized by Moscow in 2014.

On a visit to London last week, Mr Havrylov told Sky News: ‘There is a decision inside the society in Ukraine that we are going up to the end.

‘It doesn’t matter what kind of scenario is on the table.

‘People paid a lot of blood, a lot of efforts to what we have already achieved.

‘And everybody knows that any delay or frozen conflict is only the continuation of this war against the existence of Ukraine as a nation.’

He suggested an unexpected ‘black swan’ event – referring to something unpredictable, such as the toppling of Putin – could harden Ukraine’s resolve.

Ukrainian soldiers fire a mortar on the frontline in Donetsk oblast, eastern Ukraine (Picture: Anadolu Agency via Getty)

And he insisted Ukraine had no choice but to continue fighting through what is expected to be a bitterly cold winter because any pause would give Russia time to bring in reinforcements.

‘We can step in Crimea, for example, by the end of December. Possible, possible. Not excluded that it be so,’ he said.

‘That’s why…we have no right to stop. We have to advance,’ he told Sky News.

If Moscow is able to replenish its resources, a long fight could lie ahead.

‘Of course, the war will take some time, Mr Havrylov said.

‘But my feeling is that by the end of the spring, the war will be over.’

The defence minister’s prediction comes as Ukraine reclaimed the city of Kherson in a humiliating blow for Putin.

Russia’s withdrawal from the southern regional capital marks another ‘strategic failure’ for Moscow, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky greeted cheering crowds in the liberated city, hailing its recapture as a ‘historic day’ and telling his troops the retreat signified the ‘beginning of the end of the war’.

Rishi Sunak told the Ukrainian premier ‘we are with you all the way’ on his first visit to Kyiv as prime minister.

He described how it was ‘deeply humbling’ to be in the Ukrainian capital and said: ‘I am proud of how the UK stood with Ukraine from the very beginning.

‘And I am here today to say the UK and our allies will continue to stand with Ukraine, as it fights to end this barbarous war and deliver a just peace.’

Kyiv has ruled out peace talks until Russian forces have left every inch of Ukraine – including Crimea, captured in 2014.