Putin beordrar styrkor att gå in i Ukraina - INVASION NU (2022-02-24)

The Russian advance on Kyiv remains “basically… where it was yesterday” according to a senior defense official.

The Russians are not only facing “fuel and sustainment” problems, but are showing signs that they are running out of food, the official claimed.

The official cited a number of possible reasons for the stall, including Ukrainian resistance.

The official also cited the possibility that the Russians were pausing their advance by choice because they could be “regrouping, rethinking, reevaluating.” CNN reported earlier that the US believes Russia is resorting to heavier firepower and more devastating weapons systems

“They will regroup, they will adjust, they will change their tactics,” the official said, adding that the Russian defense ministry openly admitted it would target civilian areas in Kyiv.

But the official also noted that the Russian military appears to be “risk averse” when it comes to its own troops.

“There has been in the last six days evidence of a certain risk averse behavior by the Russian military,” the official said. “You’ve seen it on the ground, where units are surrendering, sometimes without a fight. And they’ve got, a lot of these soldiers are conscripts, never been in combat before, some of whom we believe weren’t even told they were going to be in combat. So we’re just seeing evidence of a bit of risk aversion.”