Russian conducts landing op, blocks Kiev from the west
It took 200 Russian helicopters, electronic warfare, and combat zone isolation to conduct the landing operation, blocking Kiev from the west.
As part of the special military operation launched yesterday Thursday, the Russian forces advanced today towards Kiev, the capital of Ukraine - and now they have conducted a landing operation.
The Russian Defense Ministry has stated that the Russian armed forces have successfully conducted a landing operation just outside Kiev, at the Gostomel airfield.
"More than 200 Russian helicopters were involved in the operation [...] During the capture of the airfield, more than 200 nationalists from the special units of Ukraine were killed. There were no casualties among the Russian Armed Forces," said Igor Konashenkov, the defense ministry spokesman.
The ministry explained that the success of this operation was due to the Russian military's efforts in suppressing the air defenses in the area, isolating the combat zone through the use of aviation, and using electronic warfare.
By landing Russian troops in Gostomel, which is located northwest of Ukraine, Russian forces effectively blocked Kiev from the west, according to Konashenkov.
Putin called on the Ukrainian armed forces to surrender, and to refuse to follow the criminal orders of the Ukrainian leadership.
The main objective of the operation is the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine.