US defense official says Russian forces have ‘made no progress’ toward seizing Kyiv

• Russian forces have made “no progress” toward seizing the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, a US defense official told reporters.
• The official explained that the Russian invasion has largely stalled in multiple parts of Ukraine, CNN reported.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin launched Russia’s war against Ukraine on February 24. 

Russian forces have made “no progress” toward seizing the Ukrainian captial of Kyiv as Russia’s more-than-month-long war with the eastern European country trudges on, a senior US defense official told reporters on Monday. 

“They’ve made no progress in moving towards Kyiv, they’ve made no progress elsewhere in the north, whether its Chernihiv or Kharkiv,” the anonymous official told reporters, according to CNN. 

The official explained that the Russian invasion has largely stalled in multiple parts of Ukraine.

There have been “no changes” to the situation in the cities of Mariupol, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, or Kharkiv, the official said, CNN reported. 

In the besieged city of Mariupol, Russian troops continue to use “long-range fires,” however, “they have not been able to take Mariupol,” the official said, according to the news outlet. 

Additionally, Russian forces “aren’t making any advances on Mykolaiv over the course of the weekend,” the defense official noted, “so they are outside the city.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched Russia’s war against Ukraine on February 24. 

In the weeks since the invasion, Russian troops have surrounded and shelled several towns across the country, hitting multiple civilian buildings, including residential towers, hospitals, and a theater.

The US defense official told reporters on Monday that Russian forces have launched more than 1,370 missiles in Ukraine since the war started.