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Questions are mounting as to why the huge Russian military convoy that would have closed the noose on Kiev in Ukraine is stuck. phalanx of Russian military vehicles has failed to advance over the past two days,[/B] suggesting, according to analysts, that Russian commanders have missed their predictions of a lightning-fast takeover of the Ukrainian capital without the need to send reinforcements.
Western intelligence officials are trying to figure out whether fierce Ukrainian resistance or poor planning on Russia's part in terms of curatorial support - or a combination of both factors - immobilized the Russian convoy.
"It's one thing to conduct military exercises and another to coordinate 150,000 troops when the enemy is going on the counterattack," said former U.S. Armed Forces in Europe commander Ben Hodges, noting that Russia had brought together forces from across the country that had not previously cooperated. The former commander added that ammunition and fuel consumption rates are always higher than originally planned and the more the Russians advance, the more they will need.
Russian soldiers "raid" supermarkets and petrol stations
Vladimir Putin asserted yesterday that the "military operation" in Ukraine is proceeding according to plan, but the halted Russian convoy, the front part of which has reached an airfield about 25km from the centre of Kiev, comes to contradict him.
Russian soldiers were seen raiding supermarkets and petrol stations across Ukraine, eyewitnesses told the FT, while videos on social media show dozens of abandoned Russian army vehicles, many with flat tires or mechanical failures.
Citing reports of Russian soldiers looting shops, a senior Western official cited low morale, food shortages, poor equipment and poor condition of the invaders.
A US Pentagon official cited images of Russian vehicles stuck in the mud, though he could not estimate the extent of the problem. He did, however, point out that Putin's troops in southern Ukraine do not appear to face such diligence problems, in part because they are being resupplied from Crimea. Besides, Russian troops there include better trained men and fewer conscripts.
Source: iefimerida.gr
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