Military hoped Russia would launch offensive only from occupied territories in east – Brigadier General

“We thought and hoped that the enemy would start its active hostilities from the occupied territory of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, disguised as units of illegal armed formations of ‘DPR/LPR’, mostly by the forces of seconded, volunteers, mercenaries and partially regular troops, perhaps with the support of long-range multiple rocket launchers and aircraft,” Commander of Operational and Tactical Group "North", Brigadier General, Hero of Ukraine Dmytro Krasylnykov said, Ukrinform reports with reference to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to him, the military believed that the enemy would not resort to large-scale aggression on all fronts.

"We hoped for the best, but we were preparing for the worst," he said.

Krasylnykov also noted that the transition to active hostilities was not unexpected for the Operational and Tactical Group "North"; the military was ready, the units were in combat positions, the artillery was in the waiting areas. He noted that the Ukrainian defenders managed to inflict serious losses on the enemy during the fighting.

On February 24, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops shell and destroy key infrastructure facilities, massively fire on residential areas of Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages using artillery, MLRS, and ballistic missiles.