Russian soldiers are now being sent back to defend supply lines as their Ukraine invasion is stalling under "incessant counterattacks".
British military intelligence and the Ukraine army have said that the Russians have suffered heavy losses, estimated at being around 7,000, according to the US, with Vladimir Putin ’s army having come up against stiff resistance.
The Ministry of Defence tweeted: “Logistical problems continue to beset Russia’s faltering invasion of Ukraine.
“Reluctance to manoeuvre cross-country, lack of control of the air and limited bridging capabilities are preventing Russia from effectively resupplying their forward troops with even basic essentials such as food and fuel.
“Incessant Ukrainian counterattacks are forcing Russia to divert large numbers of troops to defend their own supply lines. This is severely limiting Russia’s offensive potential.”
The momentum of the invasion that was projected by Putin as a special military operation to “de-nazify” Ukraine has slowed right down with the Russians unable to capture key cities.
They are slowly encircling the capital Kyiv but they are having to fight for every inch of ground and the Ukrainians have managed to heavily fortify the city.
Instead now it appears as though the Russians are trying to shell Ukrainians into submission.
But at the same time Ukraine is now making counter-attacks and Moscow is having to bring in other troops to take up the fight while Putin has also reportedly resorted to trying to bring in paid foreign fighters.
Online monitor, Oryx Blog, using only open-source material to work out losses, said that 230 Russian tanks have been confirmed destroyed, abandoned, captured or otherwise lost.
This is likely to be an underestimate with Ukraine authorities claiming it to be 400 tanks that they have destroyed.
“It clearly is not going the way that Russia planned,” one western official said, reported The Times.
“Not only is it not going the way that it was planned, but even as they have adjusted to a rather more grinding form of warfare, that is stalling as well. That is very encouraging resistance from the Ukrainians. We don’t know how long they can hold out.
"We hope it will be as long as possible. We know that Russia is trying to generate more forces to sustain the campaign and we see signs out of some quite peripheral places around Russia and its borders, which clearly was not part of the original plan.”
Despite battleground setbacks and punitive sanctions by the West, Putin has shown little sign of relenting.
His government says it is counting on China to help Russia withstand blows to its economy.
The United States, which this week announced $800 million in new military aid to Kyiv, is concerned Beijing is "considering directly assisting Russia with military equipment to use in Ukraine," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
President Joe Biden, who described Putin as a "murderous dictator", will make clear to China's President Xi Jinping in a call Friday that Beijing "will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia's aggression," Blinken told reporters.
