Russian forces fire nearly 1K missiles since start of Ukraine attack

Russian has struck Ukraine with more than 950 missiles since the start of its attack on the former Soviet nation 20 days ago, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday.  

“Kyiv remains under bombardment by long range fires, with civilian targets – to include residential areas – being struck with increasing frequency,” the official said in a statement, adding that Mariupol, the port city in the south, is likewise “still suffering heavy bombardment.”

Despite the heavy shelling, Russian forces “have not appreciably advanced” on Kyiv, with Kremlin troops estimated to still be about nine to 12 miles to the northwest of the capital city 12 to 18 miles to the east.

And across Ukraine, the U.S. continues “to assess limited to no progress by Russian ground forces in achieving their objectives,” according to the official.

Russia’s advance in Ukraine has become a slog, dashing expectations that the Kremlin would quickly take Kyiv and decapitate the government when it first started its incursion.

Instead, Russian troops have been met with fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces and issues with supplies and morale.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense earlier on Tuesday said that since the attack that began Feb. 24, Russia has lost more than 13,500 personnel in addition to 1,279 armored combat vehicles, 404 tanks, 150 artillery systems, 81 aircraft, 95 helicopters, three ships and nine drones.

Despite the losses, Russian forces have approximately 90 percent of their combat power still available to them, as do the Ukrainians, the official said.

And there are indications the Russians “are considering their resupply and manning options.”

For the Ukrainians, lethal aid from the U.S. and other nations continues to arrive in the country, including in the past 24 hours, according to the official.