The Russian column is progressing slowly towards the capital, Kiev, say U.S. officials and the British Department of Defense.
U.S. space technology company Maxar Technologies released an impressive-looking model on Friday morning. The pictures show how large the Russian column heading to Kiev is.
The model shows dozens of points. The points are Russian military equipment. The model is based on satellite images. The photos were taken on Monday, February 28th.
The British Department of Defense said on Thursday, referring to intelligence, that the progress of the column had slowed. The column has traveled an almost non-existent journey in the last three days.
According to data released by the United States on Tuesday, Russian troops were still more than 25 kilometers from Kiev.
Russian troops have been reported to have advanced at least to the town of Borodyanka. Bordoyanka is located about 50 kilometers north of Kiev.
Logistical problems are slowing down progress
The British government said on Thursday that technical failures of military equipment had slowed the progress of the Russians.
Russia’s huge military colony is said to be 64 kilometers long. The column includes armored vehicles, towed artillery and tanks.
The column is estimated to have up to 10,000 men and more than 2,000 vehicles.
British General Sir Richard Barrons told the BBC here this week that the soldiers in the column are not getting enough food. There is also a shortage of spare parts and fuel for vehicles.
Poorly maintained tires have also been suggested as a reason for the slow progress.
The U.S. Department of Defense said Thursday that Russia would have decided to regroup its column due to logistical difficulties. Grouping has been reported to take time.
In addition to technical failures, the weak fighting spirit of Russian soldiers and the resistance of Ukrainians have slowed progress, the U.S. Department of Defense and the British Department of Defense said.
The allegations have not been fully substantiated.
According to media reports, the Ukrainians have managed to stab the Russians on several fronts for a week now. The mayor of Kiev said on Thursday that Kiev is still under Ukrainian control.
– Here [venäläis]the fighting morale of the people in the column is falling day by day, a former member of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Danylyuk told the BBC this week.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Defense Authority comment (switch to another service)reporters that the Russians have a low will to fight. Many Russian soldiers have been reportedly unaware that they have been sent to a combat operation in Ukraine.
Ukrainians hit by drones
Ukraine has been reported to have attacked its column with Turkish drones.
General Barrons told the BBC that Ukraine did not have the necessary military resources to destroy the entire column. Russia has also been reported to have air defense around the column.
War experts have estimated that despite the difficulties, Russia is still planning to besiege Kiev.