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A convoy of Russian military vehicles has moved less than 25 miles outside of Kyiv in a few days while Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to take over the Ukrainian government.
A U.S. defense official said at a briefing Wednesday that Russia is currently using about 82% of its full combat power in Ukraine, adding that “there is not a significant influx of additional combat capabilities in Ukraine from what was organized in the last few months “
This satellite image, provided by Maxar Technologies, shows the southern end of a convoy east of Antonov Airport, Ukraine, on Monday, February 28, 2022.
(Satellite image © 2022 Maxar Technologies via AP)
“We think the convoy is at a standstill. It’s a long convoy,” the official said. “… Again, we do not have perfect visibility of what is happening on earth there, but we believe that there are many factors for this. The Ukrainians put up fierce resistance north of Kyiv. And we have some indications that they are also in places and have sometimes tried to target this convoy. “
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The employee later added: “[W]I would say that there was essentially no traffic closer to the city than we informed a few days ago. I say tangible movement because we do not have perfect visibility of every unit, every tank, every truck, but in general they remain stagnant outside the city center in Kyiv. “
A woman cries in front of houses damaged by a Russian air strike, according to locals, in Gorenka, outside the capital Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, March 2, 2022.
(AP Photo / Vadim Ghirda)
A U.S. official said Tuesday that there are “some morale problems” in some parts of the Russian military, as they face not only fuel and food problems but also greater resistance than expected.
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However, despite the slow movement of the convoy, officials have seen an increase in Russian artillery and missiles hitting the city.
Kyiv and Kharkiv are “constantly under attack”, but without “noticeable movement by the Russians to take control” of these areas. Convoys outside the two cities “appear to be stagnant” and have met with “resistance”, the official said on Wednesday.
The UK Ministry of Defense has published a map of its understanding of the Russian attacks and the location of troops by 3 March 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be Putin’s first target after the convoy entered Kyiv, but he rejected US evacuation proposals and insisted instead stay in the country’s capital to help fight his residence. with Russian forces.
However, in southern cities such as Mariupol, Russia is making more progressive progress, according to the official, who said the general assumption is that “Russia’s approach to Mariupol will be in many directions with what is likely to be an attempt to surround the city.”
the south Ukrainian The city of Kherson, a strategically important city near the Black Sea, fell by Russian forces, becoming the first major city to fall since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last week.
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“There is no Ukrainian army here,” Kherson Mayor Igor Kolikhaev said on Wednesday, according to The New York Times. – The city is surrounded.
Kolikhayev said Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from the city and moved to the Nikolaev region, a city northwest of Kherson.
Ron Blitzer and Michael Lee of Fox News contributed to this report.