Ukraine did not share information with anyone about how it is preparing for a Russian attack. An unnamed U.S. defense official said Washington knew more about the Russian attack plan than the Ukrainian defense plan..

Therefore, there were doubts that Kyiv would survive, writes the Washington Post.. The US government suspected that the Ukrainian military did not want to share their plans for the event of war, while the political leadership of Ukraine played down the likelihood of a Russian attack. Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov admitted that he was one of those who did not believe in a large-scale attack by Russia.

European officials assured him they saw no signs of the threat the US and UK were talking about.. Ukrainian intelligence estimates also said that Russia did not have enough forces at the borders to capture or occupy Kyiv..

[see_also ids\u003d"

On February 22, Reznikov had a telephone conversation with his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin, who promised that Russian forces would not invade Ukraine from Belarus. According to the Ukrainian minister, Khrenin "

“And he turned out to be a liar,” said Reznikov.

Two days after the start of the invasion, Khrenin and Reznikov were talking again.. The Ukrainian Minister of Defense listened to the nervous and restless voice on the other end of the line..

Khrenin said he had a compelling message from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. They say that if Ukraine signs the act of surrender, the invasion will stop. Reznikov said that he answered the Belarusian minister as follows: "

The Washington Post also writes that on the very first day of the invasion, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, received a call from the Kremlin.. They also demanded that Kyiv agree to surrender.