In the first public Russian admission so far, according to what was described by “Archyde.com”, that things are not going according to plan, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies said that Russia’s military operation in Ukraine is not going as fast as the Kremlin wanted.
Viktor Zolotov, head of the National Guard, in a speech during a mass presided over by Patriarch Kirill of the Orthodox Church, on Sunday, attributed the slower than expected pace to what he said were “Ukrainian extremist right-wing forces hiding behind civilians,” repeating a common accusation among Russian officials.
His comments appeared to contradict the assessment of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who told Putin on Friday that “everything is going according to plan.”
“I would say yes, not everything is going as quickly as we would like,” said Zolotov, who at one time was in charge of Putin’s personal security.
“But we are moving towards our goal step by step, and the victory will be ours.”
Putin’s ally’s statements come at a time when several sources confirm the slowdown in the Russian attack on Ukrainian cities.
And on Monday, a US official revealed the latest developments in the battles over Ukraine, 19 days following the Russian invasion of the country.
The US official explained, in statements to Al-Hurra, that the Russian forces are still slowly advancing towards the capital, Kyiv, from the northwest and northeast axes.
He added that Russian forces are still isolating the cities of Mariupol and Kharkiv, while there has been no progress towards Odessa.
A senior Pentagon official also said that Russian forces are still 15 kilometers from the center of the capital, Kyiv.
He added that the Ukrainian resistance tried to break the isolation imposed on Chernev and achieved some success, and the fighting is still violent.
The Pentagon official also confirmed that a senior Pentagon official: Russian forces did not make significant progress over the weekend.
