Several Russian troops are surrendering to Ukrainian forces "without a fight" as their moral is extremely low, which has also almost stalled their attack on Kyiv, a senior US official has claimed. Also, social media footages showed some Russian forces abandoning their vehicles and surrendering to the Ukrainian army.
The official, who spoke to CNN on conditions of anonymity, said that Russian units are facing logistical issues and running out of food and fuel and are extremely low on moral low. This comes amid reports of massive Russian casualty as they struggle to seize Kyiv after six days of the war.
Russia Struggles to Fight
Images tweeted by the Ukraine Information Army and OSINT Defender, an open-source intelligence monitor, show wrecked Russian army equipment. Russian personnel are said to have abandoned an outpost in the Sumy Region and escaped into the woods during the night on Monday, leaving military vehicles behind, according to the OSINT Defender.
There are also reports that even Ukrainian civilians are now forcing many Russian soldiers to surrender after seeing them low on morale. Also, the unnamed US official said that Russian forces are fast breaking down in front of high-spirited Ukrainian army and civilians.
He said units were running out of food and fuel, with some "surrendering without a fight". As a result, the assault is "basically ... where it was yesterday," he claimed.
"There has been in the last six days evidence of a certain risk averse behavior by the Russian military," they said.
"And they've got, a lot of these soldiers are conscripts, never been in combat before, some of whom we believe weren't even told they were going to be in combat."
Is Russia Losing the War?
One of the main reasons behind this is the men fighting the war for Russia are inexperienced that has resulted in heavy casualties and by seeing this the confidence of the others have been shattered. The official said that many among Russia's military are young draftees who have never faced combat.
"And they've got, a lot of these soldiers are conscripts, never been in combat before, some of whom we believe weren't even told they were going to be in combat," the US official said, according to CNN. "So we're just seeing evidence of a bit of risk aversion."
Video footages on social media show several abandoned military vehicles at multiple cities across Ukraine, including Kyiv and Kharkiv. BMPs, Russia's workhorse infantry fighting vehicle, BTR-80 armored personnel carriers, and MT-LB armored tracked vehicles were among them. "There is no indication as to why [the Russian forces] fled," it tweeted.
A wrecked column of Russian machinery in Borodyanka, near Kyiv, is seen in images provided on Twitter and NEXTA's Telegram channel. Ukraine Weapons Tracker tweeted an image of a tank captioned: "Russian T-72B obr. 1989 was abandoned with fuel and in fully working condition. The reason is unclear."
Russia's troops are also experiencing "fuel and sustainment" concerns, according to the official, who also stated that Russian forces have indicated that they are running out of food, according to CNN.
According to CNN, the official stated that Russia's slowed advance in Ukraine could be for "regrouping, reconsidering, and reevaluating" motives. "They will regroup, they will adjust, they will change their tactics," the official said.
The videos emerge as Russia continued its air strike son Kyiv on Tuesday morning, with reports of more than 400 missiles already having been dropped on the capital city.
