War in Ukraine: The Pentagon sees no progress by the Russian military

D.The U.S. Defense Department has seen little improvement by the Russian military in the recent war in Ukraine. On Monday, the Pentagon announced in the evening Ukrainian time that the Russians had made almost no progress on any of the fronts. The weekend was also a small gain. Russian troops are still 15 kilometers from the center of Kiev.

Russian forces have so far fired more than 900 rockets at various targets in Ukraine, according to Defense Ministry sources. However, Russia’s airspace is not yet under control.

Putin admits the misjudgment of faith

On Monday, Russian National Police Chief Viktor Solodov acknowledged that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was progressing slower than expected. The comments of a close confidante of President Vladimir Putin are the highest public confirmation from Russian leaders that things are not going as planned in Ukraine.

“I want to say, yes, everything is not going as fast as we would like,” Solodov told the National Guard website. Other top Russian officials, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, have repeatedly insisted that the plan work.

>>> Read all the progress of the war in Ukraine in the live ticker

Solodov blamed the slow progress of far-right forces in Ukraine, which used civilians as a shield. The allegation was repeatedly raised by the Russian side and denied by the Ukrainian side. “But we are gradually moving towards our goal, the victory will be ours, and this symbol will protect the Russian army and accelerate our victory,” Zholodov said.

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Solodov is a powerful security officer. He was once Putin’s defense chief. He is now the head of the National Guard, a type of internal special force that includes the riot police and other forces. He reports directly to Putin and says troops are stationed in Ukraine.

Attack on a television tower in western Ukraine

On Monday, several people were killed in Russian attacks Kiev, Kharkiv And reported in western Ukraine. According to the local governor, he was in town Antopol, 160 kilometers from the Polish border, a television tower collided. Thus 9 people lost their lives.

In the eastern Ukrainian city Donetsk According to pro-Russian separatists, at least 20 people were killed by the debris of a Ukrainian missile. Among the victims were children. Kyiv denied the allegations in the evening. It was “clearly Russian missiles or some other ammunition.”

According to Ukrainian data, the area is named for cargo planes Antonov Flight Jobs Shot in Kiev. In the evening, Moscow confirmed that the Russian army had destroyed a “large ammunition depot for several rocket systems” at the Antonov plant. Fierce fighting took place in the north and east of Kiev. The information provided by both parties cannot be verified independently.

Sirens sounded in several cities and regions of Ukraine early Monday morning Lemberg (Lviv) and OdessaReuters news agency offices said.

Annexed by Russia Crimean Peninsula And this Donbass Eastern Ukraine is now said to be connected by land route. Crimean Deputy Prime Minister George Muradov told the Russian state agency Riya Novosti on Monday. “The road from the Crimea to Mariupol was brought under control,” Ria Novosti Muradov was quoted as saying. There is no confirmation from Ukraine for this.

The public is able to escape from Mariopol

After several failed evacuation attempts, the first civilians were able to escape from the besieged Ukrainian port city. Like Mariupol. The Mariupol city council announced in a telegram this afternoon that more than 160 private cars had already left for the town of Berdyansk, about 70 kilometers west of the city. On the other hand, a convoy with relief supplies is still on its way to Mariupol. The buses that are supposed to take the public in large numbers have not yet arrived.

In the last few days, the convoy had to return to Berdyansk several times due to the ongoing fighting. Evacuation attempts also failed again and again, with agreed fire breaks and corridors escaping. Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for this. Surrounded by Russian troops, the humanitarian situation in Mariupol is considered catastrophic. The people of the city in the Sea of ​​Azov have been without electricity, heat and water for days.

According to Ukrainian sources, ten walkways escaping from particularly difficult cities and villages were planned across the country on Monday.

Ukraine reports explosions near Zaporizhia nuclear plant

According to Ukrainian sources, Russian troops have reportedly seized parts of an ammunition depot not far from the occupied nuclear power plant. Saborishja Have exploded. The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a Ukrainian nuclear operator Enerhoatom Telegram. The information could not be verified independently. Initially there was no comment from the Russian side. Enerhoatom said power plant staff had stopped working due to the explosion. It is not yet known whether the radiation exposure changed as a result of this incident.

At the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, it has not been clear recently who is responsible for the operation and safety. Enerhoatom reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the plant was “under the control of the commander of the Russian Armed Forces”. Rosatom, a Russian state-owned company, on the other hand, has denied taking control of the transaction with the IAEA.

Negotiations were adjourned until Tuesday

According to Kiev, talks between Moscow and Kiev continued on Monday via video link. This is already the fourth meeting in a large group. Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mikhail Botoliyak wrote on Twitter that the two sides had exchanged views.

Negotiations stalled in the afternoon and will continue on Tuesday. Bodoljack tweeted that this was a technical break for further discussions in the working groups and “clarifying personal definitions”. “Negotiations are ongoing.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zhelensky has been urging direct talks between himself and the Russian president. In a video speech released on Monday night, Zelenskyj said, “Our delegation has a clear mission – to do everything possible to implement the meeting of the presidents.” It was the meeting that everyone was looking forward to. This is a difficult path, but it is necessary to obtain effective guarantees.

Ukraine has repeatedly pointed out that President Vladimir Putin makes all the final decisions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not rule out a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zhelensky on Russian state television on Sunday. But you need to understand what the outcome of the meeting should be and what will be discussed there.

According to the UN, at least since the beginning of the war 636 civilians Killed in Ukraine. They have 46 children. In fact the number of victims may be very high. Almost 2.7 million The UN says people have been fleeing the country since Russia’s offensive.

The number of war refugees from Ukraine in Germany continues to rise. Will be until Monday 146,998 refugees The Central Interior Ministry in Berlin announced that the registration was from Ukraine. The figure was collected by the Federal Police, which is currently carrying out increased controls along the border. 135,000 refugees were registered on Sunday and 120,000 on Saturday.

The Federal Ministry of the Interior has once again pointed out that the actual number of war refugees entering Germany may be “already very high”. Due to the lack of fixed restrictions on boundaries, the exact number cannot be determined.

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