Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko on Saturday warned the capital’s residents on Saturday, March 12, that a major Russian Federation (RF) assault on the city was possible, and to prepare for it.
“If they execute a bloody bombardment to wipe out the historical memory of this entire region, the history of the Kyiv Rus, then they will enter Kyiv,” Zelenskyy said in a statement widely reported in Ukrainian media “If they (the RF army) destroy every one of us, then they will enter Kyiv. If that is their goal, then let them come.”
Mayor Klitschko in a parallel statement also was combative, saying that local defenders would fight for every street and every building.
“We are laying in supplies of food, of medicines and materials,” Klitschko said. “We are preparing and we will be ready.”
The Kremlin’s original plan was to capture Kyiv in a maximum three days of fighting, and to force a regime change by killing most members of the present Ukrainian government, and replacing them with officials loyal to Moscow.
The RF attack against Kyiv in fact bogged down quickly in the face of tough Ukraine Armed Forces (UAF) defenses, particularly mobile infantry groups well-armed with anti-armor missiles.
Ukraine’s General Staff for the last three days has said RF forces north of Kyiv have stopped active attacks, and are attempting to recover and rearm, prior to a possible renewed assault on the capital.
Both Zelensky and Klitshko said they believed any RF attack on Kyiv would fail, and vowed to stay in the city.
