KYIV — U.S. and British officials say Russia is facing tougher-than-expected resistance in Ukraine, slowing its progress toward the imperiled capital, Kyiv, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued a defiant message in the face of overwhelming Russian forces.
A senior U.S. defense official on February 26 told Reuters that it appears Russian commanders did not plan enough fuel and logistic support but were now attempting to adjust to cover shortages.
The official said U.S. intelligence had seen signs of “viable Ukrainian resistance” in the country.
“We know that they [the Russian forces] have not made the progress that they have wanted to make, particularly in the north. They have been frustrated by what they have seen is a very determined resistance,” the official said.
“It has slowed them down,” the official added.
As Russian Attacks On Ukraine Intensify, Thousands Flee And Thousands Fight Back
On the third day of Russian military attacks on Ukraine, Russian forces have besieged the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. After a barrage of air strikes on cities and military bases around the country and a huge influx of troops, many people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries. Many have stayed behind to fight.
Separately, the British Defense Ministry said Russia’s advance had slowed, also citing likely logistics problems and “strong Ukrainian resistance.”
“Russian forces are bypassing major Ukrainian population centers while leaving forces to encircle and isolate them. Overnight clashes in Kyiv are likely to have involved limited numbers of pre-positioned Russian groups. The capture of Kyiv remains Russia’s primary military objective,” a Defense Ministry statement said.
Still, the Ukrainian capital appeared to be under imminent threat as massive numbers of Russian troops closed in from northern, southern, and eastern routes and as missile blasts continue to be heard in and around the city of some 2.6 million people.
The Russian military continued to slam Kyiv and other cities with artillery and cruise missiles on thie third day of its invasion that President Vladimir Putin said was designed to “demilitarize” Ukraine and to capture what it calls “dangerous” individuals.
Zelenskiy said in a February 26 Facebook posting that the capital remained in Ukrainian hands, while authorities handed out thousands of assault rifles to residents and told them to make petrol bombs as they await the Russian invaders.
He told the nation that he and his government were not considering capitulation under the threat of Russian encirclement of Kyiv and as thousands of people jammed trains, roads, and buses to fleet the country before the invading troops’ arrival.
“Do not believe fake news…I am here, we are not laying down our arms, we will defend our state, our truth, our land, our children, all of this we will defend, this is what I wanted to tell you,” Zelenskiy said as he stood near the presidential office in downtown Kyiv in the video uploaded to his Twitter account.
The U.S. defense official estimated that Russia has sent in more than half of the over 150,000 troops it had arrayed around Ukraine in the lead-up to the invasion.
As of the evening of February 26, U.S. defense officials say they believe Russian forces were 30 kilometers north of Kyiv.
“[They] have not gotten any closer than that,” the official said.
Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor has prompted worldwide condemnation and a slew of sanctions against Russia by Western powers.
Washington and its allies announced packages of additional military assistance in the face of Moscow’s actions. They appeared to move closer to removing Russia from the global SWIFT financial system, considered by many to be one of the toughest of possible sanctions.
Moves were also made to slap Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov personally with sanctions, a nearly unprecedented move.
U.S. President Joe Biden told U.S. State Department officials to release to Ukraine up to an additional $350 million worth of weapons.
A previously unannounced U.S. shipment of arms had arrived in Ukraine in recent days, a U.S. official said.
“I can confirm for you that they have received security assistance from us just within the last couple of days,” the was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Authorities in Kyiv on February 26 announced they were imposing a full-day curfew until the morning of February 28.
“The curfew in Kyiv will start on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and end at 8 a.m. on Monday,” city authorities said on Telegram.
The announcement said that “all civilians that are on the streets during the period of the curfew will be considered members of sabotage groups of the enemy.”
By the afternoon on February 26, an RFE/RL correspondent said barricades had been erected on some roads south of Kyiv, using sandbags, lumber and wood from nearby trees.
More than two dozen men, some carrying decades-old hunting rifles and antique weapons, stopped passing cars and checked documents. Some had more sophisticated sniper rifles. Several appeared to be in their 60s.
Off to the side were dozens of plastic jugs and bottles—many with rags sticking out of them – indicating they were homemade gasoline bombs: “Molotov cocktails.”
Residents of Kyiv described to Current Time, a Russian-language network operated by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, what they had experienced following a blast on an apartment building.
“I was asleep when there was a huge explosion,” Kyiv resident Oksana Gulenko told Current Time. “I was thrown about 3 meters from the room into the corridor. There was glass everywhere and noise from the street.”
“After a while, I began rushing around the apartment, gathering my things and my documents, which I’d prepared earlier, and I ran out into the street,” she said. “When I came back after two or three hours, the door had been broken in. Apparently, firefighters or police were opening the apartments and looking for victims.”
Ukrainian officials said Russian forces fired cruise missiles from the Black Sea at the cities of Sumy, Poltava and Mariupol and there was heavy fighting near the southern city of Mariupol.
During the three-day Russian invasion, the Ukrainian military said it has destroyed so far 14 aircraft, 8 helicopters, 102 tanks, 536 armored vehicles, as well as killing 3,000 military personnel, according to a social media posting early on February 26 by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
Russia has not released casualty figures.
Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said on February 26 that 198 people have been killed and more than 1,000 others have been wounded in the Russian offensive.
His statement made it unclear whether the casualties included both military and civilians.
The UN refugee agency said on February 26 that over 120,000 Ukrainian refugees have left the country since Russia began its attack this week.
