section_path: Prelude/Invasion plans
section_name: Invasion plans
paragraph_text: Invasion plans
  
  The Royal United Services Institute reported that Russia's plan involved defeating Ukraine within ten days and capturing or killing its government, followed by "mopping up" operations; establishing filtration camps for Ukrainians; setting up occupation regimes; executing people involved in the Revolution of Dignity; and lastly annexation. The decision to invade was reportedly made by Putin and a small group of war hawks or siloviki in Putin's inner circle, including national security adviser Nikolai Patrushev and defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
  
  After the start of the invasion, Ukrainian and Western analysts tentatively assessed that Putin seemed to have assumed that the Russian Armed Forces would be capable of capturing the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv within days. This assessment eventually led to the commonly reached conclusion that "taking Kyiv in three days" had been the original objective or expectation of the invasion.
  
  Aleksandr Lukashenko had already stated that, in case of war, Kyiv would be taken in "3 - 4 days". Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT, had made similar remarks about Russia being able to "defeat Ukraine in 2 days". The narrative of the planned "three day" capture of Kyiv was further reinforced on 2 March, when the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) repeated the claim following its release of a video showing a captured Russian soldier claiming that his unit was sent into Ukraine with food supplies for only three days. Documents found inside Russian tanks mention how the " special military operation " would conclude in ten days. Ukraine also captured "flagship" tanks - as used in parades - along with military parade uniforms, suggesting that Russia expected to stage a victory parade in Kyiv after a quick conquest. Three days after the invasion began, RIA Novosti, a Russian state news agency, mistakenly published an article entitled " Russia's Coming and the New World," which was prepared in advance in anticipation of a Russian victory. It announced that Russia had won the Russo-Ukrainian war and that "Ukraine had returned to Russia". Zelenskyy also admitted that he had received an ultimatum to be replaced with Viktor Medvedchuk.