Russia-Ukraine conflict live updates: Ukraine battles for Kyiv, U.S. says it sees signs of Russian frustration
Ukrainian forces battled Saturday to keep hold of the capital city of Kyiv as the U.S. said it has indications the Russians are increasingly frustrated by their lack of progress in the northern regions amid the stiffest resistance to the unprovoked invasion yet.
Here's what to know now:
Russian troops advanced toward Ukraine's capital early Saturday and street fighting broke out as city officials urged residents to take shelter. Smoke and flames could be seen rising over Kyiv as dawn broke, though it was not immediately clear how far the soldiers had advanced.
The U.S. continues to see indications of viable Ukrainian resistance, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said in a call with reporters Saturday morning, adding the U.S. has indications that the resistance is greater than the Russians expected. Moscow is increasingly frustrated by the fierce fight Ukrainians have put up in the north around Kyiv and Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, the official said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has refused to leave the capital despite saying he believes he is the number one target of the Russian attack. Instead he has been posting videos from the streets, urging his people to join him in defiance.
President Joe Biden on Friday authorized another $350 million in military supplies from the Department of Defense, "including anti-armor, small arms and various munitions, body armor, and related equipment in support of Ukraine’s front-line defenders facing down Russia’s unprovoked attack," the Pentagon said in statement Saturday morning.
Follow our in-depth coverage of the Russia-Ukraine crisis here.
Retired Lt. Gen. Hodges says he believes Kyiv might not fall
Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commanding general of U.S. Army Europe, said Saturday that Ukrainian forces have surpassed expectations in their fight against Russia's military.
Moscow's forces are underperforming and none of their objectives have been met, Hodges said in an interview on MSNBC, adding, "I don't think it’s feasible that Kyiv is going to fall." He noted the massive Russian troop numbers required to encircle the Ukrainian capital and the effort it would take to clear each of the city's buildings.
"I'm not going to say that it's basically irrefutable or inevitable that Russia will eventually overwhelm," he said. "I just don't believe that they have the capability, especially the further they go from Russian sovereign territory and from Belarus, that they will be able to maintain this."
Russia's supply line is getting longer and they are using huge amounts of fuel and resources to maintain the invasion so they may soon decide to switch from ground fighting to a more accelerated and lethal form of conflict, he said
Hodges' analysis comes after reports that the Kremlin is growing increasingly frustrated over the lack of traction it has made in Ukraine.
Comments
Post a Comment