Russian military vehicles | The Pentagon has detected a new convoy to Kyiv

While all eyes have been on a 60km column of Russian military vehicles bogged down on a road north of Kyiv for several days, another column has formed northeast of the Ukrainian capital, the Pentagon warned on Tuesday. afternoon.

Andre Duchesne
The Press

“I wanted to draw your attention to the fact that they [les Russes] are beginning to attempt to advance towards Kyiv from the northeast,” a senior US Department of Defense official told reporters. “We estimate that they are about 60 km from the city. »

This spokesperson, however, did not give details on the axes of movement of the convoy or on the number of vehicles in it.

On February 28, four days after the start of the Russian invasion, the deployment of a column of Russian vehicles 64 kilometers long between the approaches to Hostomel airport and the town of Prybirsk, further north, made pose a serious threat to the Ukrainian capital.

However, the Ukrainian defense has slowed its momentum thanks to acts of sabotage, including the demolition of bridges. This, coupled with problems with the supply, especially of gasoline, of Russian vehicles and hostile geography, impeded, at least temporarily, the advance of the Russians.

“The formation of this column is a logistical and strategic mistake,” believes Benjamin Zyla, assistant professor at the University of Ottawa’s School of International Development and Global Studies. “The length of the convoy made it vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks, including by drones. »

Only one side of the coin

Many videos, posted on social networks, actually show a number of vehicles – tanks, missile launchers, trucks – destroyed, abandoned, burned or overturned on the roads.

The effect is impressive. But we must consider the fact that these images only show one side of the coin, warns Justin Massie, professor of political science at UQAM and co-director of the Network for Strategic Analysis, an organization of experts and researchers in the field strategic and defense challenges.

It is true, he says, that the Ukrainians bogged down the column of Russian vehicles, including by blowing up bridges.

“But the Ukrainians use the media a lot and the Russians don’t,” he adds. The Russians are not allowed to have their cell phones in their possession, which can be geolocated by American intelligence. »

From northwest to west

However, the Russian army is visibly regrouping elsewhere, out of sight.

“There is an increasing encirclement of Kyiv from the east and the west by Russian forces, believes Justin Massie. It is possible that part of the convoy [de 64 km] be part of this attempt to move northwest to west to eventually encircle the objective. »

Sean Maloney, professor of history at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, sees things the same way.

“The media kept their eyes on this convoy for a long time because they could see it and they made a big deal of it,” he said. It is true that the Ukrainians had a whole plan to slow down the enemy. But I think the situation has been resolved for 24 to 48 hours. »

In Irpine, on the western flank of Kyiv precisely, the fighting continued on Tuesday, according to the site L’Internaute.

“Near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Russian forces are still gathered, and the assault is imminent according to the Ukrainian general staff,” read the summary of the 13^and day (March 8) of the fighting. “Heavy strikes hit the western outskirts of Kyiv, in Irpine, last weekend. »

The senior American officer who on Tuesday informed the media of the creation of a new Russian column estimated that the bogging down of Russian vehicles on the ground had resulted in an increase in air attacks. “They increased the bombardment of the city with a mixture of missiles, rockets, artillery fire and airstrikes,” he said.

With Agence France-Presse and L’Internaute