London. Opinions are divided among Western military experts as to whether the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, can be captured by Russian forces in the next few days.
Retired American lieutenant general and security analyst Ben Hodges, who visited the city for four weeks, expressed doubts about Russia’s ability to capture Kyiv, speaking from Frankfurt, Germany, reports the BBC. Most others however are apprehensive that this is inevitable.
The 40-mile convoy of Russian armored vehicles was heading north to the capital and has been at a standstill for more than a week. Satellite images from Maxar Technologies released by the United States Department of Defense, then known as the Pentagon, indicate heavy artillery vehicles and thousands of troops have advanced since Thursday. Some of them are within a five kilometer radius of the city.
US officials claimed that the Russians had largely redeployed their troops. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko told the BBC: “Every street, every building, every checkpoint has been strengthened.”
The British Defense Ministry has said that even if the Kremlin does not enter the metropolis of 3 million people, it may be close to siege of the city. However, half of its population has moved to safer areas within the country or neighboring countries. “Russia is trying to reset and redeploy its security forces for renewed offensive activity in the coming days,” Reuters quoted the British Defense Ministry as saying.
However, it is also being said that the first strike launched by the Russians was neutralized by a strong fight by the Ukrainians as per Western assessment. After more than two weeks of fighting, while the Russians have besieged several cities, they are able to control only one, which is Kherson in southern Ukraine, close to Crimea. The city is close to the same Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
However, Tass reported in a report that Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, said that Russian air defense forces shot down three Ukrainian Mil Mi-25 helicopters and eight unmanned aerial vehicles in the past 24 hours. Is. He also said that the Russian Air Force destroyed 107 Ukrainian military facilities in the same period. These are said to include military airfields in Lutsk and Ivano-Frankovsk.
It is also claimed that since the start of the operation, a total of 3,213 Ukrainian military infrastructure had been disabled. Konashenkov further claimed that 98 aircraft, 118 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,041 tanks and other combat armored vehicles, 113 multiple rocket launchers, 389 field artillery pieces and mortars, 843 military motor vehicles were destroyed.
There is no independent verification of the claim, but both Ukrainian and Western sources have acknowledged that the Russians have caused heavy damage to Ukraine’s conventional defense capability. So Ukraine has adopted a guerrilla strategy, with armed civilians involved in the resistance.
—AnyTV News
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