Russia prepared only one military operation during the invasion of Ukraine — the destruction of Ukrainian air defenses, radar stations and airfields. The whole other plan relied on the success of non-military operations — and this was the reason why all Western predictions about the rapid fall of Ukraine did not come true.
This is stated in the report of the British Royal Institute of Defense Studies.
The fact that the Russians did not organize logistics, did not have enough fuel and ammunition, and moved in huge columns without air cover, only confirms that the invasion was viewed by the Kremlin as nothing more than a military demonstration. There, they did not prepare for long full-fledged hostilities. Russia hoped to repeat the success of the annexation of Crimea, during which the Russian troops did not meet serious military resistance from the Ukrainians.
In the first days of the war, the Russians hit air defense positions, airfields and radar stations — it was important for them to block aid to Ukraine by air. Also, rocket strikes were supposed to shock and fear the population and convince them not to resist. In the south of Ukraine, the Russians succeeded, but in other places air defense was restored within a few hours or a day.
The West and Ukraine assumed that the Russian army would conduct a full-scale military offensive from the very beginning of the invasion — this was a false prediction and a big mistake. In the first days of the war, Russia tried not to engage in fighting, but instead bypassed, shackled and isolated Ukrainian units. Its strategy relied almost entirely on the success of non-military operations, but this plan failed. This can be considered one of the main strategic mistakes made by Putin personally.