They were preparing for a parade, not for street fighting - Ukraine’s Defense Ministry explains Russia's plan to seize Kyiv

This was stated by First Deputy Defense Minister Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

He noted in particular that the initial plan of the Russians to capture Kyiv was designed for a short-term operation lasting 3-5 days. A similar plan was used by the USSR in Hungary in 1956, Czechoslovakia in 1968, and Afghanistan in 1979.

"The Russian occupiers, as usual, planned to land special operations forces and airborne troops on the outskirts of Kyiv - at the Hostomel and Vasylkiv airfields - as soon as possible. They wanted to destroy our air defense system, control centers of Ukrainian Armed Forces and National Guard military units, and critical infrastructure facilities with missile and air strikes," Pavliuk said.

He also added that the Russian Federation relied on the collapse of the Ukrainian governance system. After that, Russian troops were going to seize the government quarter, eliminate or arrest the leadership, and later install their puppets.

At the same time, according to Pavliuk, the Russians did not expect any resistance and did not prepare for street fighting.

Considering there were ceremonial uniforms in the destroyed Russian equipment, they were preparing for a parade in Kyiv downtown, on Khreshchatyk, rather than street fighting. Later, of course, this plan changed, as Russia's intentions were shattered by the Defense Forces," he said.

After the blitzkrieg failed completely, the Russian army regrouped and tried to surround and block the capital. By striking at the city, the invaders wanted to spread panic and force the city to surrender.

• On April 11, it was reported that since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia had lost 179,300 troops, 3,644 tanks, 535 multiple launch rocket systems, and 293 helicopters in Ukraine.