Fighting has moved away from Nikolaev, but Russian troops are hitting the city from a distance. 50-70 km, reported on Sunday morning the SKAI envoy Elli Kasoli. The head of the regional state administration of Nikolaev Vitaly Kim made the announcement on the air of the marathon on Ukrainian channels. “Fighting is now moving away from Nikolaev in a different direction,” he said, without specifying exactly where. Vitaly Kim added that the Russian occupiers continue to bomb residential areas of the city.
One month (25th day) since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Moscow makes only limited progress, reports the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), estimating a prolonged impasse. The Ukrainians are talking about 14,400 Russian dead soldiers, and four generals, while the US is talking about at least 7,000 Russian soldiers, while Moscow is talking about 500.
Hundreds of Ukrainians have been killed and more than 6,000 civilians have been displaced by the humanitarian crisis.
According to the ISW, the conditions are set for the war in most of Ukraine to turn into a dead end that could to last for weeks or even months.
The longer the impasse is extended, the more deadly it could become, the thought tank notes. Small groups of Russian troops are focusing on local battles, rather than launching a large-scale operation. At the same time, it is reported that even if Mariupol falls into the hands of the Russians, it is unlikely that it will release Russian troops for the wider campaign, due to the extent of the damage caused by the Ukrainian defenders.
Russian forces are likely to occupy the besieged Mariupol or force the city to surrender in the coming weeks.
The Russians probably have abandon plans to encircle Kyiv from the west, or to attack to occupy the city from the west in the near future. Instead, they are likely to set the stage for an extensive bombardment of Kiev with missiles and bombs once they reach the appropriate range in its center.
The continued and expanded support of Ukraine by Western nations will be vital, the think tank stressed.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Russian army had suffered “unprecedented losses” and that some Russian units had “Destroyed by 80 to 90%.
“The Ukrainians have shown that they can fight more professionally than an army that has been waging wars for decades in various regions and conditions. We respond with wisdom and courage to the large number of equipment and troops sent to Ukraine,” Zelensky told His videotaped message was posted on social media.
NEW: Ukrainian forces have defeated the initial #Russian campaign of this war. Its culmination is creating conditions of stalemate throughout most of #Ukraine.
Read the latest Russian offensive campaign assessment from @TheStudyofWar and @criticalthreats: https://t.co/EtMCrMbAjO pic.twitter.com/4XrCCj5Gnj
– ISW (@TheStudyofWar) March 19, 2022
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