Days later, they are still waiting.
On Thursday, the UK Ministry of Defense said the convoy appeared to have stopped about 30km (19 miles) outside Kyiv and had made “little noticeable progress” in the past three days, citing intelligence.
“The main part of the large Russian column advancing towards Kyiv remains more than 30 km from the city center, after being slowed down by strong Ukrainian resistance, mechanical damage and congestion. The column has made little noticeable progress in more than three days, “the United Kingdom said in a statement.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday night that while Russia’s convoy and wider push to Kyiv “remain stagnant,” there are significant concerns that “maybe the window is closing so we can get help in cities that they may be under siege. “
A senior US defense official told reporters that although the convoy was suffering from fuel and food shortages, the United States said the Russians “will learn from these mistakes and stumbling blocks again and try to overcome them.”
The slow progress of the convoy could create many strategic problems for Russia.
First, as a key Russian supply line for any major attack on Kyiv, it is a very big sedentary target for Ukrainian forces fighting the invasion.
Second, standing in a 40-mile traffic jam for days could affect the morale and discipline of Russian soldiers before a major military operation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday night that fierce Ukrainian resistance had damaged Russia’s morale.
“More and more occupiers are fleeing back to Russia, from us, from you … we are a nation that shattered the enemy’s plans in a week – plans that have been built for years,” he said in a Facebook post.
The latest estimates for the convoy come after the Russian military released its first figures for war casualties, with 498 of its soldiers killed and 1,597 others wounded. A statement from the United Kingdom on Thursday said that “the actual number of killed and injured will almost certainly be significantly higher and will continue to rise”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov voiced “great grief” over Russian military casualties on Thursday morning.
But Russia appears to be facing less resistance in southern Ukraine, where the mayor of the strategically important Black Sea city of Kherson has said Russian forces have taken control, although allegations remain disputed.
And the crucial southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol was besieged by Russian forces on Thursday as Moscow seeks to tighten its grip on the south.