One week after the invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces were unable to capture the capital, Kyiv, until Thursday evening. Ukraine claims that this is due to the fierce resistance of its military. But something more dangerous is happening.
The Ukrainian government has called on the people to take up arms and fight. If the soldiers and civilians are not identified, the enemy will open fire. This will lead to many more civilian deaths. This is influencing Russia’s moves.
One thing is clear from the week-long struggle. The Ukrainian army is fighting not like a conventional field army, but almost like guerrillas. As in all military operations, the Russian army invaded relatively sparsely populated areas, but was not repulsed by Ukrainian forces. Instead it is just outside the cities. That is the main reason why cities are collapsing. The Ukrainian military chose this method of combat because it was convinced that it could not withstand the traditional style of ground warfare with the Russian army, which was a force to be reckoned with. ⁇
A U.S. Defense Department official has identified two reasons why the Russian military’s advance has been slow since Monday. One is the strong resistance of the Ukrainian military. The second is that the Russian military is running out of food and fuel.
But these are not two, and there are indications from Moscow that civilians are being given the opportunity and time to leave the city as the fighting is likely to kill them once they leave the cities. If this is the case then maybe Russia’s military strategy is to seize the cities after temporarily reducing the force of the attack and allowing people to escape.
By this tactic they had already captured the Black Sea coastal city of Kherson. They encircle the capital, Kiev, with the port city of Mariupol and the second largest city, Harkiv. People in all three cities have been asked to leave the city, and safe havens have been opened.
Russia also wants to reduce civilian casualties. The Russian leadership already knows that world opinion is against it. If the civilian death toll continues to rise, pressure will mount on Russia from countries such as India, which are now neutral.
If Russia’s intention is to overthrow a government of their choice in Ukraine, it will do harm. The people will turn against the government that comes to power with the blood of the common man. So it is safe to assume that the Russian army will capture the city only when it is convinced that the people have left. The motive behind the Ukrainian government’s call for the people to take up arms may be to prevent this.
The Ukrainian leadership has accused Russian forces of attacking populated areas. To counter this, the Russian military released the first list of areas it had destroyed yesterday. Russia claims to have destroyed 612 enemy military targets in the past week by missile and artillery fire.
Military targets include enemy weapons depots, ammunition depots, communications systems, missile bases, and military bases, as well as important military office buildings, bridges, railway tracks, roads, and fuel depots.
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