Ground Forces Commander reveals where in Kyiv Oblast Russian offensive was stopped

Oleksandr Pavliuk, Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has revealed that the place where Russia’s 2022 offensive in Kyiv Oblast was disrupted was the village of Moshchun.

Source: Pavliuk on the national joint 24/7 newscast, Ukrinform reports

Quote: "It was Moshchun. On the 19-20th [March – ed.], there were decisive battles for this settlement. It’s a bridgehead that had been captured by the Russians and was a huge threat to Kyiv. Had they had been able to build on the offensive, we would have been fighting for the streets of Kyiv."

Details: Pavliuk said that the Ukrainian military then managed to blow up the dam, which washed away all the bridges the Russians had built to move their main forces, and destroyed the unit that had seized the bridgehead. "That was what stopped the offensive," he said.

"After we launched an offensive on the 19th to cut off the group and enter the enemy's rear lines, they panicked. They were terrified of being surrounded and began to withdraw their units from the territory of Ukraine. They tried to leave very quickly, abandoning both their equipment and their dead. The Russians were highly trained in that area, but we proved to be better," the commander added.

Pavliuk noted that the Russians were let down by the fact that they dispersed their forces throughout Ukraine. He said the Russians did not have the resources to reinforce their assets and personnel in Kyiv Oblast.

On the subject of how the Russians had miscalculated, Pavliuk said they had underestimated Ukrainians – both the army and the resistance of the population.

Pavliuk also said that a great deal of work had been done to strengthen the capital's defence during his tenure as commander of the Kyiv Defence Forces.

"At the time, I had taken up the post of commander of the Kyiv Defence Forces. And during the year that I was in this position, we did a huge amount of work: about 1,000 km of fortifications, three rings of defence around Kyiv. We greatly strengthened the Chornobyl front, which had not been considered a defensive line until then," he said.

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