Russian troops in Ukraine do not have proper cold weather clothing, and some have been pulled out of combat due to frostbite, a senior US defense official said Tuesday.
The official called it another example of how Moscow failed to adequately prepare for an invasion of Ukraine, along with continued fuel, ammunition and food shortages.
For almost a month of the war, Russian troops did not manage to capture a single large city, and their advance on almost all fronts was stopped by a staunch Ukrainian defense.
According to the latest Pentagon assessments, Ukrainian forces are now gearing up to retake the captured territory as the morale of Russian troops is waning.
The senior official was asked about logistical issues during a briefing on Tuesday.
“We have found some indications that some of their soldiers are suffering from frostbite because they lacked the appropriate cold gear for the environment they are in… which they did not have – in addition to food and fuel – even in C point for some of their soldiers, they have problems seeing personal equipment,” the official said.
“They are in trouble, and we found signs that some soldiers were indeed injured and were withdrawn from combat due to frostbite.
“So yes, they continue to have logistical and supply issues.”
He added that this includes the absence of guided munitions.
On Tuesday, a senior US Department of Defense official said some Russian soldiers had suffered frostbite in Ukraine, another example of the ongoing problems they faced due to a lack of proper invasion planning.
A handout satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damage and burning buildings in Irpen near Kiev.
Russia’s advance on Kyiv has stalled for days, and as the conflict enters its 27th day, there are fears that a desperate Vladimir Putin is about to use chemical weapons to break the stalemate.
Captured soldiers of the Russian army during a press conference organized by the Ukrainian army in Kyiv, Ukraine
This is partly due to the fierce resistance of Ukrainian forces, and partly because Moscow did not plan properly, the official said.
As the Russian ground advance stalled about 10 miles from the capital Kyiv, its forces began to rely more and more on air strikes and artillery.
Some of the fiercest fighting has been around the southern port city of Mariupol as Moscow seeks to seize a land bridge between controlled territory in Donbas and Crimea.
US officials have warned that Vladimir Putin could use chemical weapons in a desperate attempt to end the stalemate.
President Joe Biden said on Monday that Russia’s false accusations that Kyiv possesses biological and chemical weapons indicate that the Russian leader himself is considering using them.
A U.S. official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, shared Biden’s assessment but added: “There is no indication that something is inevitably going to happen in this regard right now.”
At the same time, he said that Ukrainian forces were organizing in an attempt to regain lost positions.
Ukrainian generals predicted today that Russian troops would run out of food, fuel and ammunition within three days due to logistical failures during Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” (pictured is a destroyed Russian vehicle near Kharkiv).
The Kremlin appears to have been planning a multi-day war that has now dragged on for nearly a month with more than expected casualties after its forces faced stiff resistance (pictured is a destroyed Russian vehicle near Kharkov).
The flaws in military planners left Russian convoys vulnerable to Ukrainian ambushes, depriving the troops of the resources they needed to fight (pictured is a wrecked truck near Kharkiv).
The Russian ground forces were largely stalemate for weeks, with only limited gains in the south and east. Efforts now appear to be focused on capturing the city of Mariupol, although so far they have been unsuccessful. Ukraine says counterattacks are underway west of Kyiv, potentially threatening Russia’s advance there
“What we are starting to see are signs that they are, now they can and want to return the territories captured by the Russians,” the official said.
He declined to specify what their goals might be and said it was difficult to say if this was part of a larger operational plan.
It comes after Ukraine said its forces pushed Russian forces back from a strategic suburb of Kyiv, prompting Mosko to call in reinforcements to help them take Makarov, about 37 miles from the capital.
An update of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published today states: “Having lost their offensive potential, the Russian occupation forces continue to form and transfer reserves from the depths of the Russian Federation to the borders of Ukraine.”
And the Kiev generals said that Putin’s troops had only enough food, fuel and ammunition for three days of fighting.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s leaders continued to plead for more help amid desperate reports of devastation in the besieged city of Mariupol, which left residents without medicine, electricity or running water.
Officials said 300,000 civilians in the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Kherson are also running out of food, highlighting what an international aid official says is a glitch in Ukraine’s humanitarian aid system.
‘There’s nothing left. Only ruins, said President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video message to the Italian parliament.
Civilian volunteers are trained to fight Ukrainian troops in the woods outside Kiev as the country mobilizes all of its reserves and prevents the men from leaving so they can join the fight.
Ukraine’s international supporters are supplying weapons and ammunition to the country’s military, but now the Biden administration is also facing calls to support an irregular or guerrilla war that could last for years.
“President Biden has an obligation to the Ukrainian people to openly call for support for the national Ukrainian resistance,” Republican Rep. Mike Waltz, a former special forces officer who has traveled to Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa, told .
“This would raise the price enormously for Putin and send a signal to the Russian regime that Ukraine will remain a military quagmire for the foreseeable future.
“Only when Putin believes that his invasion cannot be defeated militarily will he take diplomacy seriously.”
For now, officials are publicly saying they remain focused on “Plan A.” The Ukrainian armed forces managed to stop the initial Russian onslaught, while the country’s air force and air defense systems prevented Russia from gaining dominance in Ukrainian airspace.
Meanwhile, Washington and its allies have sent Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to ensure Ukraine continues to be supplied with key systems.
While reports suggest a “plan B” is being discussed, including support for the Ukrainian government in exile, officials declined to publicly confirm the details.
But Kyiv has already laid the groundwork for building a broader nationwide resistance movement against Russia.