Ukraine still in control of major cities, Belarus could support invasion with troops | DW News

Notwithstanding its overwhelming advantages, the Russian military campaign in Ukraine is meeting stiffer-than-expected resistance from Ukrainian forces. What could the next stage look like? The Kremlin has declined to comment on details of the military operation, and its Defense Ministry is adamant that the campaign has been successful. A senior US defense official said there were indications that in the last 24 hours Moscow had become frustrated by slow progress due to the unexpectedly strong Ukrainian defense and failure to achieve complete air dominance. The UK's Ministry of Defense tweeted that Russian military progress was stalling. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, notes that Ukrainian resistance remains highly effective, despite the Russians' huge advantage in firepower.

Analysts say that the Russian military leadership has been taken by surprise by the lack of impact its aerial campaign is having. "The Russian forces have a hard time suppressing the air defense and aerospace forces of Ukraine and Ukrainian forces," Mathieu Boulegue, a research fellow with the Russia and Eurasia Program at Chatham House, a London-based think tank, told DW. The Pentagon believes that Russia has currently moved at least 50% of its forces into Ukraine out of an estimated 150,000 troops amassed at the border. It's not just the regular army making inroads against the Russian forces but also volunteers who have formed militias and are arming themselves with home-made Molotov cocktails, setting up road blocks and removing road signs to confuse Russian troops.

Most analysts predict that the current war phase is just the first stage of a multi-pronged tactic and that the Russian military will now broaden the campaign.

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