According to the US Department of Defense, the advance of Russian invading troops in Ukraine is still being held back by fierce resistance from the Ukrainians. “The Ukrainians are fiercely resisting,” a senior ministry official said in a briefing for journalists on Sunday (local time). “It’s heroic, it’s inspirational, and it’s very clear for the world to see.” One also observes “fuel and logistics bottlenecks” of the Russian troops. “In our estimation, they did not anticipate the level of resistance they would encounter,” the government official said. However, it can be assumed that the Russian armed forces would adapt and overcome the challenges. According to US estimates, Russian President Vladimir Putin only has two-thirds of the “combat power” he had deployed for the border invasion in Ukraine.
The ministry official sharply criticized Putin’s announcement that he would put the nuclear power’s deterrent weapons on special alert. The step is unnecessary because Russia has never been threatened by the West, NATO or Ukraine. It also represents an escalation. In the event of a “miscalculation”, the situation might become much more dangerous.
The ministry official declined to comment on whether US forces have been placed on heightened defense readiness. In principle, no information was given on this. “I just want to tell you that we remain confident in our ability to defend ourselves, our allies and our partners.”
The official said the US estimate as of Sunday morning EST that Russian troops had fired more than 320 missiles – the previous day the Pentagon put the number at 250. “And there are indications that some of these launches have failed, that not all of the missiles have been successfully launched.”
