Russia-Ukraine conflict: US says Russian forces losing momentum to Ukrainian resistance

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is underway following the military operations ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin into the country. Despite Russia’s military forces’ efforts to take control of Ukraine, US officials revealed that the Russian forces are losing their momentum.

A senior US defense official revealed to AFP Friday last week that Russian forces are losing momentum as they are met with fierce resistance from Ukraine in both the ground and in the air. The official told the outlet that the momentum of the Russian military forces, especially when it came to reaching Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, slowed down considerably.

“Their momentum, particularly when it comes to Kyiv, has slowed over the last 24 hours,” said the official, who added that the Russian forces have yet to seize control of any other major Ukrainian city or its airspace. Pro-Russia separatists seized the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which Putin declared as independent states last week.

“They have not achieved the progress that we believe they anticipated they would,” said the official. “A good indicator of that is no population centers have been taken. None.”

According to the Pentagon, Moscow looks to seize control of Kyiv and change the regime to install Putin allies. There are also those who fear that with the backup Moscow’s troops have in its borders, Kyiv could be taken in a matter of days.

The invasion has led to waves of sanctions against Russia imposed by the US, NATO, and the European Union, as well as widespread condemnation from all over the globe, including from Russian citizens.

In another response to Russia’s attempts to invade Ukraine, Kyiv has filed a lawsuit against Russia in The Hague, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It remains to be determined what grounds the case was being brought to the UN’s highest court.

“Ukraine has submitted its application against Russia to the ICJ. Russia must be held accountable for manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression. We request an urgent decision ordering Russia to cease military activity now and expect trials to start next week,” tweeted Zelenskyy.

The court does not have a mandate to press criminal charges against Russians who are responsible for the invasion. It also does not have automatic jurisdiction in cases involving both Ukraine and Russia, and Kyiv would have to base its claim on a UN treaty for it to give the court authority to hear the case.