Russian military stalled in attempted advance in Ukraine — senior US defense official

In this photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on February 18, 2022, Russian army tanks are loaded onto railway platforms to move back to their permanent base after drills in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on February 18, 2022, Russian army tanks are loaded onto railway platforms to move back to their permanent base after drills in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

The Russian military was largely stalled in its attempted advance in Ukraine today and made little progress over the weekend, a senior US defense official says.

The official also says the Russians have not taken total control of the airspace. The official says all of the Russian military forces that had been arrayed around the country are now inside, and that the Russians still retain about 90 percent of their combat capabilities. The official said there are no indications that the Russians are trying to bring in reinforcements.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments.

The official also said the US has not done any training of the Ukrainian military in the country since the Florida National Guard forces left as the war was beginning. In that vein, the official said a military training base the Russians hit in western Ukraine on Sunday close to the Polish border has not been used to send security assistance to the Ukrainian military and therefore the attack had no impact on that assistance.

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