Ukraine Armed Forces stage sturdy resistance against Russian advances in south, east: US

A senior US defence official on Saturday stated that the Russian offensive in Ukraine was going much slower than expected. He added the Russian attempts to crawl further south and east have been strongly resisted by Ukrainian forces. The defence official's remarks come as the Russian war entered day 66 with invading troops intensifying the fight in the east and south of Ukraine.

While getting a full picture of the war in the east has been difficult due to the barrage of shelling and artillery strikes as the battle unfolds, the US official said the separatist forces have been able to make only "minor gains." As reported by the Associated Press, the US also believes that the Russians are "at least several days behind where they wanted to be." Discussing the Pentagon's assessment, the official further added that the assault is moving "much slower" than anticipated. To enhance their offensive, Russian troops have also moved out from the north of Mariupol to advance on Ukrainian forces from the south still their progress has been "slow and uneven and definitely not decisive," the official said.

UK MoD says Russian forces face "weakened morale"

The British Defence Ministry has offered a similar assessment, saying that it believes Russian forces in Ukraine are suffering from a lack of morale and "inconsistent air support." In the defence intelligence update on the war in Ukraine, the British MoD said, Russia has continued to face considerable challenges, The report mentioned, much of the Russian troops has been depleted, which led Moscow to redeploy "disparate units from the failed advances" in North-eastern Ukraine. "Many of these are likely suffering from weakened morale," the UK MoD said.

In addition, the Russian troops are also facing "tactical coordination" and a lack of unit-level skills. Despite localised improvements, the shortcomings have limited Russia from gaining full leverage in the battle.

Pentagon slams Putin for 'depravity' in Ukraine

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby on Friday lashed out at Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russian forces launched fatal airstrikes in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv during the visit of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Addressing a press briefing, Kirby stated "it is hard to look at what he is doing in Ukraine, what his forces are doing in Ukraine, and think that any ethical, moral individual could justify that." Kirby was also momentarily emotional while speaking about Putin's "depravity and cruelty" in Ukraine.