Russia's stranded troops face dying in tanks that become '40-ton iron freezers' during -20C cold snap as 'clusterf**k invasion' gripes grow
- Russian troops face freezing to death in their tanks outside Kyiv this week amid an expected cold snap
- Temperatures are set to plunge in coming days - down to as low as -20C with wind chill
- Comes as President Putin's invasion grinds to a bloody halt, with no significant territory captured in days
- The worsening conditions will pose major difficulties for refugees and soldiers on both sides
- Kyiv claims 12,000 Russian soldiers have now been killed in fighting, with more than 300 tanks destroyed
- Russian politicians and powerful business figures are privately denouncing the invasion
Russian troops stranded in the 40-mile long convoy of tanks and armoured vehicles stalled on the outskirts of Kyiv could face freezing to death in their vehicles this week as temperatures are set to plunge.
A pronounced cold snap in Eastern Europe will see temperatures drop to -10C overnight in the middle of the week around Kyiv and Kharkiv – down to -20C when wind chill is taken into account.
The icy conditions are expected to make a difficult situation even worse for the invaders, who have been stuck roughly 20 miles from Kyiv for days amid mechanical problems, fuel supply issues and solid Ukrainian resistance.
Former British Army Major Kevin Price said the occupiers' tanks will become nothing more than '40-ton freezers' as the mercury drops, commenting that the bitter conditions will destroy the morale of troops not prepared for Arctic-style warfare.
Price declared that life for Russian soldiers not expecting to be confronted with such low temperatures in March is set to become 'unbelievably tough', while Glen Grant, a senior defence expert at the Baltic Security Foundation, said a tank 'is just a fridge at night if you are not running the engine' - something the Russians simply cannot afford to do given the fuel scarcity.
Grant said that unless the convoy is quickly supplied and is able to get moving again, many of the Russian soldiers may be forced to give up to avoid freezing to death.
'You just can't sit around and wait because if you are in the vehicle you are waiting to be killed. They are not stupid,' he told Newsweek.
Russian troops stranded in the 40-mile long convoy of tanks and armoured vehicles stalled on the outskirts of Kyiv could face freezing to death in their vehicles this week as temperatures are set to plunge (Russian convoy pictured March 7 near Kyiv)
The icy conditions are expected to make a difficult situation even worse for the invaders, who have been stuck roughly 20 miles from Kyiv for days amid mechanical problems, fuel supply issues and solid Ukrainian resistance
A pronounced cold snap in Eastern Europe will see temperatures drop to -10C overnight in the middle of the week around Kyiv and Kharkiv – down to -20C when wind chill is taken into account
Kremlin officials meanwhile are 'privately denouncing' Vladimir Putin's 'clusterf**k' invasion
Russian journalist Farida Rustamova, who was well-connected in government circles before fleeing the country as the Kremlin launched a sweeping crackdown on dissent, has claimed that officials in Moscow never believed that Putin would go to war.
They are now allegedly making 'apocalyptic' forecasts about the weeks and months ahead as fighting grinds on and punitive sanctions bite.
When asked how Russian politicians were reacting to the crisis, one source told Rustamova: 'They're carefully enunciating the word clusterf**k. No one is rejoicing. Many understand that this is a mistake.'
Kyiv estimates that 12,000 Russians have now died fighting and while that number cannot be verified, casualties are almost certainly higher than Putin bargained for when he gave the order to attack 13 days ago. Captured soldiers have complained of a lack of food, fuel, and overall battle plan – with conditions set to get worse in the coming days.
The CIA's Burns warned that with Putin under immense pressure, the 'system' the Russian president created of a circle of close advisors is getting 'narrower and narrower' – and that in such a system, 'it's not proven career enhancing for people to question or challenge his judgment'.
Ukrainian artillery is being brought to bear on Russian forces as they set up the next phase of their attack, commanders said.
Ukraine's commanders have claimed that Putin's invasion has 'slowed significantly' in recent days, with American intelligence saying he has now committed all of the forces he built up along the border to the fight.
Kyiv's military, giving an overview of combat as the war entered its 13th day, said defensive operations continue in the north, east and south of Ukraine, with all major cities other than Kherson in Ukrainian hands. Russian troops are 'demoralised and increasingly tend to looting and violations of international humanitarian law', commanders added.
It has also emerged that another Russian commander – Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, first deputy commander of Russia's 41st army – was killed in Kharkiv on Monday, just the latest in an increasingly long line of senior military figures to lose their lives in Ukraine.
Ukrainian artillery targeting Russian military trucks in Kozarovychi in the Kyiv Oblast
The fire at a warehouse after a Russian Kalibr missile was shot down over Kalynivka village, near Brovary, the eastern frontline of Kyiv region, Ukraine, 08 March 2022
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, speaking to the BBC today, said Russian forces are 'getting more desperate' and 'we are seeing the Russians just double down on brutality' as the attack stalls.
He says 'Russia has still not been making its advances, it's day 13. That northern column that we have often talked about is still pretty much stuck, I mean really stuck, so that's not advancing.'
He said the UK would be increasing the amount of lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine, details of which he would announce in Parliament on Wednesday, and is helping organise delivery of aid through Nato and other EU countries.
Meanwhile Russia has threatened to turn off the main gas pipeline supplying Europe if the West goes ahead with sanctions on its oil sector - a move that Moscow says would push the price up above $300 per barrel.
The fighting has sent energy prices surging worldwide and stocks plummeting, and threatens the food supply and livelihoods of people around the globe who rely on crops farmed in the fertile Black Sea region.
Ukrainian servicemen inspect a charred Russian tank that was destroyed on the outskirts of Sumy, eastern Ukraine
A charred Russian tank is seen on the outskirts of Sumy, a city in the east of the country, as Putin's invading force continues to suffer losses without a significant gain in territory
The burned-out remains of a Russian infantry fighting vehicle are seen on the outskirts of Sumy, where fighting has been ongoing since the first day of the war
A Ukrainian tank is seen next to the ruins of a destroyed Russian tank on the outskirts of Sumy
A destroyed Russian tank is seen by the side of a road in Luhansk, in images captured by Ukrainian soldiers in the region
Ukrainian soldiers in Luhansk, in the country's east, captured images showing destroyed Russian military vehicles
Buildings flattened by Russian artillery are pictured in the city of Sumy, in eastern Ukraine, as Kyiv's commanders say the invasion has 'slowed' with Putin's men increasingly resorting to 'war crimes'.
One Ukrainian paratrooper told of 'hand-to-hand' combat in Irpin, saying 'we are trying to push (Russian soldiers) out, but I don't know if we'll be fully able to do it'.
An international legion of volunteers has descended on Ukraine to fight the Russians.
A Russian military vehicle explodes after being struck by Ukrainian artillery near Kyiv, as commanders say Moscow's forces continue to suffer heavy losses across the country
Ukrainian soldiers keep their spirits up by singing in a trench near Irpin, on the western outskirts of the capital Kyiv
Ukrainian soldiers stand ready to defend against Russian forces in Irpin, Ukraine
The booster section of a Russian Smerch rocket is seen embedded in the side of a car in Kharkiv, Ukraine
A burning Russian tank is seen in the midst of night as fighting takes place outside the Ukrainian city of Sumy
The Pentagon said Monday that Moscow was on a recruiting mission for its own foreign fighters - Syrians who fought for President Bashar al-Assad.
'We do believe that the accounts of them - the Russians - seeking Syrian fighters to augment their forces in Ukraine, we believe there's truth to that,' Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
The World Bank on Monday approved an additional $489-million package in support for Ukraine, to be made available immediately and dubbed 'Financing of Recovery from Economic Emergency in Ukraine,' or 'FREE Ukraine.'
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