Russia has run into tougher resistance than it anticipated from Ukraine, but Moscow still has 'significant combat power' at its disposal, a U.S. official said.
The UK ministry said Russian armored units were approaching Kyiv from multiple angles in an attempt to encircle the capital but "continue to face strong resistance from the Ukrainian Armed Forces." Russian troops made advances throughout Friday, but Ukraine still retains control of its "key cities," the ministry said.Significantly, Ukrainian military authorities still have good command and control over their deployed forces, the U.S. Defense official said.
"Command and control" refers to lines of communication, usually electronic, between military decision-makers and units in the field. Central control is critical if far-flung troops are to act in a coordinated way."We don't believe that the Russians have employed the full scope of their electronic warfare capabilities, and it's not clear exactly why," the official said.
The enemy is clearly surprised by the results of the Ukrainian armed forces and volunteers to protect the integrity of our country.Ukrainian air missile defense systems are still working, though they have been degraded by strikes, the official said."What I can tell you now is that we have seen more than 200 total launches as of this morning," the official said, adding that the launches have been a mix of both ballistic and cruise missiles.
Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, said Friday that Russia's attacks have been brutal but "were not as successful as the enemy has planned." "The enemy is clearly surprised by the results of the Ukrainian armed forces and volunteers to protect the integrity of our country," Markarova said. "We see that they didn't advance the way they planned."
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