[BR]
Russia clarified to reporters that this senior official has not yet taken full control of Ukraine's airspace, an official who did not want to be named.
Ukrainian air defenses are still functioning, though damaged by Russian airstrikes, he assured. There is still an anti-missile defense and () they still have aircraft that prohibit access (to Ukrainian airspace) to Russian aircraft.
In addition, the command and control capabilities of the Ukrainian military, which allow coordination of military operations at the highest level, are intact, he noted.
We believe that in the last 24 hours () the Russians have lost a little bit of momentum said the US official.
They are encountering more resistance than they expected. They are not going as far or as fast as we said they would expect, he added, noting that the Russian military does not yet control any Ukrainian urban centers.
We had information about what they thought they could do, he noted. And we continue to have information that suggests that this is not playing out as they had anticipated.
However, the Pentagon official stressed that Russia has not deployed to Ukraine all but a third of the forces it had amassed in recent weeks on the country's border and that Moscow's goal of seizing Kiev to install a pro-Russian regime there has not changed.
[BR][BR]The situation could change, it could change very quickly, he noted. They have a lot of firepower at their disposal.
Although Russian forces are on the outskirts of Kiev, they have not yet managed to enter the city center.
Moreover, the city of Kharkiv has not fallen into the hands of the Russian army and fierce fighting continues in that zone, the official said. In the south, the offensive against Kherson continues, but has expanded to the west, with a landing of thousands of Russian troops from the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, heading for the city of Mariupol, according to the Pentagon.
Russian forces are also attempting to take control of the important Kakhkovka power station, northwest of Kherson, where hostilities are ongoing.
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