Voice of America
Russian forces advancing on Kyiv and other key cities as part of a plan to “decapitate” Ukraine’s government appear to have lost some momentum, U.S. and Western officials warned Friday (Feb. 25), as they and Moscow ramped up information operations to keep up with fighting on the ground.
Explosions and gunfire continued to rock parts of the Ukrainian capital Friday, along with areas near Kharkiv in the north and Kherson in the south, as Russian forces continued a slow march farther into Ukraine.
A senior U.S. defense official, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss intelligence, said the Russian assault had unleashed a barrage of more than 200 ballistic and cruise missiles since the invasion began, most of them targeting the Ukrainian military.
But the official said intelligence indicated the operation was not going as smoothly as Russian commanders had hoped.
“The Russians have lost a little bit of their momentum,” the official said. “They are not advancing as far or as fast as we believe they expected they would.”
The Russian advance on Kyiv, in particular, seems to have gotten bogged down.
“They’re meeting more resistance than they expected,” the U.S. official said, adding that Russian forces had yet to establish air superiority despite a numerical advantage and efforts to eliminate Ukrainian air defenses.
Ukraine’s command and control “is intact,” the official, added.
In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought to rally his nation, rejecting rumors that he had fled the city and insisting he and other government officials “are all here, defending our independence, our state.” (VOA)
– bny
