Russian forces are advancing in their attempt to advance through Ukraine from various directions, while the Ukrainians, led by President Volodymr Zelenskyy, are putting up “fierce resistance,” according to U. S. officials.
The attack began on February 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special army operation. “
Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus to the Ukrainian capital Kiev do not appear to have approached the city as they approached about 20 miles away, smaller teams have been conducting firefights with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday.
Russia has faced sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries across Europe, the Russian economy and Putin himself.
U. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed little optimism about the Ukraine-Russia talks.
“The demands that Russia put on the table were more than excessive, of course they were not a start and what we have noticed is that Russia is going through the pretext of international relations to distract itself and continue on its competitive path,” Blinken warned.
Blinken also addressed the other Russians at a news conference Wednesday.
“This is President Putin’s war. This is not the war of the other Russians. It is transparent that the other Russians oppose this. Members of the Russian military objected and had no idea what they were being sent to. And now the other Russians will suffer the consequences of their leader’s decisions,” Blinken said.
“The economic prices we have been forced to impose on Russia are for you. Their goal is to force their government to avoid their actions, to prevent their aggression. And just as millions of us around the world came together to oppose Moscow’s aggression, we are also with you as you call for your leaders to end this war,” Blinken added.
Blinken said the U. S. The U. S. was documenting Russian attacks that might have targeted civilians and wanted, among other things, to ensure that they were held accountable.
“It’s embarrassing. The number of civilians killed and injured, the humanitarian consequences will accumulate in the coming days,” he said.
Blinken accused Russia of attacking schools, apartment buildings, hospitals, roads, critical infrastructure such as clean water, electricity and fuel, such as Kiev TV and Babyn Yar.
He welcomed the UN General Assembly’s vote to condemn the Russian invasion and commented on the five states that voted against the resolution, saying: “As Groucho Marx once said, this is not a club I would like to be a member of. “
He said Biden’s management is working very actively to get U. S. aid in Ukraine, adding fatal defensive aid, but declined to say whether the U. S. or Europe could supply fighter jets to Kiev.
-Conor Finnegan of ABC News
The Pentagon has announced it will postpone a past intercontinental ballistic missile control planned for this weekend to prove that the United States is a “responsible nuclear power. “
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby called on Russia to raise the prestige of its nuclear alert and said the United States had taken its resolution lightly.
“That provocative rhetoric and imaginable adjustments in nuclear posture involving the maximum of vital weapons and our respective arsenals are unacceptable,” Kirby said. “The United States has not taken any similar action. “
“In an effort to demonstrate that we are not intended to engage in movements that could be misinterpreted or misinterpreted, the Secretary of Defense has ordered that the launch of our Minuteman-III intercontinental ballistic missile scheduled for this week be postponed,” Kirby said.
Kirby said that “at this time of heightened tensions,” the United States and the foreign network see Russia’s announcement as “dangerous and irresponsible and, as I said, a step. “
Kirby said the resolution to cancel the check is not a step backwards in U. S. preparedness and does not mean it will cancel other regime activities to a “credible nuclear capability. “
-Luis Martinez of ABC News
The 40-mile-long Russian convoy is “blocked” and advancing at a speed that indicates it has solved its problems, a senior U. S. defense official said.
The official said Wednesday that they do not have the best visibility of what was happening on the ground, but that the stalemate is due to several factors, one of which is Ukrainian resistance north of Kiev to try to attack the convoy.
“We have indications that they also attacked and tried to attack this convoy,” the head of the Ukrainian forces said.
Another remains “significant logistical and maintenance challenges. “
“In terms of food and fuel. . . ours is that they suffer shortages of both,” the official said.
As on previous occasions, the official urged that “we are waiting for the Russians . . . be informed of these missteps and stumbles and try to succeed over them. “
“We know that the goal of this convoy is also to help with resupply. Therefore. . . I think they will try to alleviate the food and fuel shortages they have experienced,” the official said.
About 82 percent of Russian forces deployed on the border are now from Ukraine, up from 80 percent yesterday, according to the official.
Russia has fired about 450 missiles at Ukraine since the invasion began, the official said.
The official said it is not transparent when civilians are intentionally targeted by Russian attacks or simply hit by wandering movements aimed at nearby military targets.
Airspace over Ukraine remains “hotly contested,” he said.
The Russians are still doing well in the south. “They’ve made more progress there,” the official said.
-Matt Seyler of ABC News
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that from Thursday he will visit Brussels, Poland, Moldova and the Baltic countries.
Blinken will continue discussions and consultations with NATO allies and partners regarding the invasion of Ukraine, adding the significant economic consequences and prices for Russia.
In Brussels, he will attend NATO and G7 summits and meet with his EU counterparts, among other meetings.
In Poland, he will meet with his Polish counterpart and “thank Poland for the generous burden of thousands of displaced Ukrainians. “
In Moldova, Russian troops are occupying the breakaway region of Transnistria, Blinken will meet with the leaders.
Blinken will also travel to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, where he will reassure the 3 NATO allies about possible extra-Russian actions.
-Conor Finnegan of ABC News