Russian troops going through fierce opposition by Ukrainian forces might solely be capable to maintain their onslaught for one more 10 days to 2 weeks earlier than their scenario deteriorates on account of dwindling gear and manpower, in line with a brand new report Tuesday.
The Daily Mail, citing protection sources within the United Kingdom, reported that Ukraine’s defenders have the Russian military “on the run” and predicted that “the strength of Ukraine’s resistance should become greater than Russia’s attacking force” in a matter of days.
Despite Western predictions earlier than the battle that the Russian military would rapidly overrun Ukraine, Moscow has solely managed to seize one main metropolis because the invasion started on Feb. 24.
A US protection official mentioned Monday the Ukrainians have “effectively struck at the Russian logistics and sustainment capabilities.”
“As we’ve said all along, they’ve been quite creative here,” the official informed reporters. “They’re not simply going after combat capability — tanks and armored vehicles and shooting down aircraft. Although they’re doing all that, they are also deliberately trying to impede and prevent the Russians’ ability to sustain themselves.”
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky famous the problem Moscow is having Tuesday, praising “our brave defenders” for “continu[ing] to inflict devastating losses on Russian troops.”
“Soon the number of downed helicopters of Russia will reach hundreds of units. They have already lost 80 warplanes. Hundreds of tanks and thousands of other units of equipment. In 19 days, the Russian army has lost more in Ukraine than in two bloody and years-long wars in Chechnya. For what?” Zelensky said in an tackle to the Ukrainian folks Tuesday.
The Ukrainian president, hailed as a hero for rallying his folks to face up and battle, known as on Russian troops to give up, declaring that they’re fleeing the battlefields and abandoning gear.
“If you surrender to our forces, we will treat you the way people are supposed to be treated: As people, decently. In a way you were not treated in your army. And in a way your army does not treat ours. Choose!” he mentioned within the message.
Zelensky adviser Oleksiy Arestovich advised late Monday the battle may come to an finish inside weeks.
“We are at a fork in the road now,” he mentioned. “There will either be a peace deal struck very quickly, within a week or two, with troop withdrawal and everything, or there will be an attempt to scrape together some, say, Syrians for a round two and, when we grind them too, an agreement by mid-April or late April.”
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Meanwhile, a high navy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted Monday the battle towards Ukraine isn’t progressing as anticipated.
“I would like to say that yes, not everything is going as fast as we would like,” mentioned Viktor Zolotov, chief of Russia’s nationwide guard and a member of Putin’s safety council.
“But we are going towards our goal step by step and victory will be for us,” he added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Zolotov’s claims, saying Russian has ample firepower to take over Ukraine.
“All the plans of the Russian leadership will be achieved on time and in full,” he mentioned.
As the invasion bogs down, most observers recommend Russia would possibly resort to much more brutal ways — whilst its forces goal hospitals, residence buildings and different civilian buildings in the capital, Kyiv, Ukraine’s second metropolis, Kharkiv, and the southern port of Mariupol.
The Russian economic system is reeling below sanctions imposed by the US and its Western allies, inflicting the worth of the ruble to plummet to report lows.
Reports surfaced on Monday that Russia has reached out to China for navy and financial help, main White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan to confront his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi throughout a gathering Monday in Rome.
Peskov rejected the concept Russia was pleading for assist.
“Russia possesses its own independent potential to continue the operation,” he mentioned. “As we said, it is going according to plan and will be completed on time and in full.”
With Post wires
