Maxar satellite imagery showed a 3.25-mile long convoy of Russian ground forces 40 miles northeast of Kyiv moving toward the capital city on Sunday.
Why it matters: According to Maxar, the convoy contains hundreds of armored vehicles including tanks and self-propelled artillery, fuel and logistics. U.S. and Ukrainian officials believe Russia’s primary military objective is to encircle Kyiv and topple the government.
Message to Russian troops from Kyiv’s Defenders. pic.twitter.com/mac42RziS9
— UkraineEnglishUpdates (@EnglishUkraine) February 27, 2022
Russia-Ukraine Warning Update: Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, February 27
The Russian military has likely recognized that its initial expectations that limited Russian attacks would cause the collapse of Ukrainian resistance have failed and is recalibrating accordingly. The Russian military is moving additional combat resources toward Ukraine and establishing more reliable and effective logistics arrangements to support what is likely a larger, harder, and more protracted conflict than it had originally prepared for. The tide of the war could change rapidly in Russia’s favor if the Russian military has correctly identified its failings and addresses them promptly, given the overwhelming advantage in net combat power Moscow enjoys. Ukrainian morale and combat effectiveness remain extremely high, however, and Russian forces confront the challenge of likely intense urban warfare in the coming days.
