Washington DC –
A senior United States (US) defense official said Russia was losing momentum to dominate Ukraine quickly. He considered Russia was losing momentum because of resistance from Ukrainian fighters on the ground and in the air.
“Their momentum, especially regarding Kiev, has slowed over the past 24 hours,” the official said.
The official added that Russian troops, who entered Ukraine Thursday morning local time, has not captured the big cities. Russian troops, he added, had not yet controlled the airspace.
“They haven’t made the progress that we believe they anticipated,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“The good indicator is that no population centers were taken. None,” the official said.
The Pentagon believes that Moscow wants to take control of Kiev and replace its Western-leaning government with a Kremlin ally.
He said that many feared that a powerful Russian power, with large reserves still waiting on the Ukrainian border, could conquer Kiev within days. But so far, while Russian forces are focused on military objectives, they have not been able to disrupt Ukraine’s military structure.
“As we see now that command and control Ukraine still intact, “the official said.
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