The US Department of Defense aka the Pentagon on Wednesday (23/3) said that currently Russian troops in Ukraine were in a defensive position. According to Pentagon monitoring, Russian troops have retreated 55 km to the east of Kyiv in the last 24 hours.
Earlier, on Tuesday (22/3), the Pentagon reported that Russian troops were still about 20 km from the center of Kyiv City, the capital of Ukraine.
Speaking anonymously, a Pentagon official said Russian troops in northwestern Ukraine were currently preparing a defensive position. He made sure that the Russian troops did not try to advance.
"They are basically building a defensive position. So, it doesn't mean they are not advancing. They are not actually trying to advance now," the official was quoted as saying by The Straits Times.
According to Pentagon estimates, Russian troops are also still held back about 10 km from Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv.
"They stopped, and in some places they gave up. They were actually moving in the opposite direction, but not by much," the official continued.
In Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, fighting is reportedly still fierce. The Pentagon saw Russian troops still 15 km to 20 km from the city center and faced very strong resistance from Ukrainian troops.
For the time being, the Pentagon assessed, Russia was starting to focus on the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, two pro-Russian separatist regions.
From the South, the Russian Navy is reportedly still using the Berdyansk Port in the Sea of Azov for refueling. The Pentagon also has not seen any change in the situation around the city of Odessa, which overlooks the Black Sea.
Earlier this week, several missiles were fired at Odessa from a Russian warship in the Black Sea. Around Odessa, the city of Kherson is also an area that is continuously monitored.
Citing data from satellite imagery taken by the company Planet Labs over six days, the New York Times on Tuesday (22/3) reported that Russia had pulled most of its helicopters from Kherson airport.
Kherson is an important point because it became the center of shipbuilding. The location also has a coastal area overlooking the Black Sea and the Crimean Peninsula.
This city became one of the first major cities to be invaded by Russian troops, although so far they have not managed to fully control it. Control over Kherson is considered essential for any attempt to dominate the vast South of Ukraine.
Subscribe Daily Post or Follow Google News to update information quickly, Thank you..!!