Russian Push Toward Kyiv ‘going slower’ Than Kremlin Expected, US Official Says, Ukraine Claims Nearly 3,000 Russians Killed in Fighting; Russia-Ukraine War LIVE UPDATES: Ukraine says it shot down Russian military plane carrying paratroopers, and related stories
Russian push toward Kyiv ‘going slower’ than Kremlin expected, US official says:
Russia’s push to take control of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, is going slower than expected, according to a senior U.S. defense official.
The Russian military began their offensive Thursday on three “lines of axes” — one from Belarus south toward Kyiv, one north from Crimea, and one from Russia going into Ukraine along the border. The official said on Friday that while those trajectories largely remain unchanged, there appears to be some unexpected resistance from Ukrainian forces.
The troops heading “towards Kyiv, we assess is going slower than the Russians had anticipated it going,” the senior defense official said. “They’re meeting more resistance than they expected.”
On Thursday, both Ukrainian and Russian officials confirmed Russian troops captured a nuclear power plant in Chernobyl. Ukraine officials are reporting higher radiation levels around Chernobyl nuclear plant since Russia gained control of the area.
“They are not moving on Kyiv as fast as what we believe they anticipated they will be able to do,” the official added.
Ukrainian forces haven’t given up elsewhere either. —>READ MORE HERE
Ukraine claims nearly 3,000 Russians killed in fighting:
About 2,800 Russian soldiers have died in the first 36 hours of Russia’s bloody invasion, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine claims.
If true, Russia’s losses in the first days following its invasion of Ukraine top the casualties U.S. soldiers faced during the 20-year military operation in Afghanistan. Ukraine also says it destroyed nearly 600 tanks and armored vehicles and over 17 warplanes and helicopters.
“This morning, we are defending our country alone. Just like yesterday, the most powerful country in the world looked on from a distance,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an apparent reference to the United States on Friday. “Russia was hit with sanctions yesterday, but these are not enough to get these foreign troops off our soil. Only through solidarity and determination can this be achieved.”
The U.S. Pentagon has not independently confirmed the casualty count in Ukraine, and warring nations have incentives to exaggerate the numbers.
“We cannot quantify what casualties either side has endured, other than to say that we certainly have seen reports of casualties in Ukraine, and we have no reason to dispute that. But in terms of quantifying them, I simply can’t do that. And I believe we’ll, we’ll be able to do that,” a senior defense official told reporters on Friday. —>READ MORE HERE
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