Russian Forces Suffering From Low Morale as War in Ukraine Drags On: Pentagon

A satellite image shows Russian ground forces northeast of Ivankiv heading in the direction of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 27, 2022. Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters

Low morale has become a growing problem for the Russian forces in Ukraine as they have been dragged into war for almost a month, the Pentagon said.

“We certainly have indications that morale is a growing problem inside the Russian forces that are fighting in Ukraine,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Tuesday during a press briefing. “And as time goes on, and they continue to fail to achieve the progress on the ground that they want to achieve, we’ve seen increasing indications that morale and unit cohesion is a problem.”

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby conducts a news briefing at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on March 7, 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images

He said Russian forces have been struggling with logistics and sustainment for a while mainly due to two reasons: they didn’t properly plan and the Ukrainians have been targeting their resupply effforts.

“We know that they continue to have fuel issues across their force ... they are still struggling with food. I mean, you’ve seen the footage yourself of Russian soldiers looting grocery stores. So they’re still having trouble feeding some of their troops,” Kirby told the reporters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, which was described by Russia’s government as a “special military operation.”

The United Nations said that as of March 22 it had recorded 977 deaths and 1,594 injuries of civilians in Ukraine because of Russia’s military actions, mostly caused by shelling and airstrikes.

However, the U.N. believes that the actual figures are “considerably higher.”

Over 3.6 million people have fled Ukraine since the war began, United Nations data show.

A person from Ukraine (L) holds their passport while waiting near a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer before being allowed to cross the San Ysidro Port of Entry into the United States to seek asylum in Tijuana, Mexico, on March 22, 2022. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Russian forces were apparently slowed down because of logistics issues and unexpected resistance from the Ukraine side.

Viktor Zolotov, head of the Russian National Guard and Putin’s former personal bodyguard, admitted days ago that the military operation was slower than they had hoped.

“Not everything is going as fast as we would like,” Zolotov said in comments posted on the Russian National Guard’s website on March 20, adding, “But we are going towards our goal step by step and victory will be for us.”

Smoke rises from a Russian tank destroyed by the Ukrainian forces on the side of a road in the Lugansk region, Ukraine, on Feb. 26, 2022. Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

The Ukrainian forces were able to organize effective resistance with help from the United States and other Western alliances, including large amounts of anti-tank and anti-craft missiles and other weapons.

The Ukrainians have also carried out some counterattacks in some areas and tried to regain territory, Kirby said.

“We have seen them now in places, particularly in the south, near Kherson. They have tried to regain territory. Again, we don’t have great fidelity of tactical movements. But we have seen them make these efforts,” he said.

“The Ukrainians themselves, several days ago said that they were planning on counterattacks. And so, I think we have seen indications that they are moving in that direction,” he added.

Jack Phillips contributed to the report.