The sword of Damocles above Kiev seems ready to let go more than ever. The Russian military, which has “complete air superiority” in Ukraine, was closing in on the capital on Thursday with the intention of installing a pro-Moscow government there, according to Western military sources.
After firing more than 160 missiles at Ukrainian military targets, Russian forces from Belarus advanced rapidly south and “closed in on Kiev” during the day, a senior Pentagon official said. “We believe that, fundamentally, they intend to decapitate the government and install their own method of governance, which would explain this initial advance towards Kiev”.
Everything will “depend on the resistance of the Ukrainians”
According to a senior Western intelligence official, “Ukraine’s air defenses are now knocked out and they have no air force left to protect themselves.” According to him, “the Russians will seek in the next few hours to massage an overwhelming force around the capital and the defense now falls to the ground forces and the popular resistance”. Russian troops will be massed around Kiev “in a matter of days, if not tomorrow morning, at the rate we are advancing.” “There is not much time left. I think a lot will depend on the resistance of the Ukrainians”.
Russia has so far advanced into Ukrainian territory along three axes: south from Crimea to the city of Kherson, over the Dnieper, north from Belarus to Kiev, along two routes to the northeast and northwest of the Ukrainian capital, and east from the Russian city of Belgorod to the major industrial city of Kharkiv, according to Pentagon estimates.
A key airport
The attacks have focused on military targets, including airbases and the Ukrainian army command, but the Pentagon says the goal is to take control of key cities, including Kiev. The Russian forces notably attacked the Antonov military airport in Gostomel, at the gates of the capital, where the fighting seemed to continue at the end of the day. This airport could become an assembly point for the Russian army if it wanted to encircle Kiev.
