The Russian advance on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities has stalled amid food and fuel shortages, Ukrainian resistance and slower-than-expected troop movements toward the capital, a senior U.S. defense official said.
The Russians “are regrouping and trying to adjust to the challenges they have had,” the official said. The Russians appeared to be “risk averse,” the official said, and there is evidence some Russian troops have surrendered and that morale is weak among the force.
“The overarching movement on Kyiv is stalled at this point,” the official said.
Overnight, Russian forces made no major movement toward Kyiv. A convoy of hundreds of Russian vehicles stretching for 40 miles is at a standstill north of the capital, the official said.
The Russians are advancing in other parts of the country, the official said. The U.S. believes that while Russia is encircling Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, it hasn’t taken any contested major population centers.
U.S. officials fear that Russian forces could begin targeting civilians, particularly as Moscow’s original military plan appears to falter. The Russians have launched more than 400 missiles within Ukraine since the invasion began. In all, 80% of the roughly 190,000 troops Russia staged around Ukraine’s borders in the runup to the invasion have crossed the border, the official said.
The U.S. sees no evidence that Russia is considering retreating, the defense official said. Rather, the U.S. believes Russia intends to move toward Kyiv.
“We don’t see a re-evaluation of the entire operation and the invasion of Ukraine at a strategic level,” the official said. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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