The difficulties they face in advance Russian land Forces Ukrainian territory Forced Russian personnel to change strategy on the battlefield.
Now, according to sources, Russian forces are returning to bombardment from a distance with air and artillery in an attempt to stimulate Ukrainian resistance and revive the advance of ground troops.
Maps provided New York Times The strong opposition they faced in northern and central Ukraine marked a change in the direction in which the Russians were forced.
Since Kiev is difficult to occupy immediately, its purpose seems to be to encircle it from the east and west.
Day 1: Thursday, February 24th
Russian forces have begun to invade northern Ukraine, mainly from Belarus, but also from southwestern Russia. Within hours, they arrived at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the town of Chernihiv, but failed to capture the airport in Hostomal.
Day 2: Friday, February 25th
The Russians flooded the Dnieper Valley with vehicles, controlled almost the entire route from the Ukrainian border with Belarus to the suburbs of Kiev, attempted a ground attack at the Hostomal airport, but were forced to cross Chernihiv.
Day 3: Saturday, February 26th
Russian troops are entering the suburbs of the Ukrainian capital from the north, while forces from the east of the Dnieper rush to strengthen them, leaving the opposition Chernihiv and from eastern Ukraine. It is a few hours after the Kiev invasion.
Day 4: Sunday, February 27th
Outside Kiev, Russian forces are having difficulty advancing, and some bridges facing south have been damaged. Hostomel is now useless to the Russians, as it destroyed the runway when the Ukrainians left.
Day 5: Monday 28th February
Russian progress towards Kiev was halted. Russian armored carriers along with troops from various parts of Ukraine are stationed north of the Ukrainian capital, while airstrikes are intensifying in various Ukrainian cities.
Day 6: Tuesday, March 1st
The Russians are engaged in an open effort to deploy additional artillery and infantry west of Kiev and encircle the capital.
At the same time, the forces on the east side of the Dnieper River are retreating, joining other forces coming from the east of the country and are located in Nizhny Novgorod, 110 kilometers from Kiev.