Britain's Ministry of Defence has explained why Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stalled and is failing so far.
In the latest intelligence update on the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, they highlighted a number of the problems that Putin’s forces had run into.
Challenges like the terrain, and transport issues have severely hampered Moscow’s ability to advance across what is the biggest European country by landmass.
On top of that, an inability to secure control of the sky has “drastically limited” their ability to utilise jets and limited their options further.
On top of that, the military acumen of the Ukrainian forces and the tactics they have used have exploited Russian weakness and inflicted “heavy losses” on Putin’s invading forces.
Want all the latest news and analysis from Ukraine? Sign up to our World News Bulletin here
In a statement released on Twitter, they said: “Russian forces are struggling to overcome the challenges posed by Ukraine’s terrain.
“They have remained largely tied to Ukraine’s road network and have demonstrated a reluctance to conduct off-road manoeuvres.
“The destruction of bridges by Ukrainian forces has also played a key role in stalling Russia ’s advance.
“Russia’s continued failure to gain control of the air has drastically limited their ability to effectively use air manoeuvres, further limiting their options.
“The tactics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have adeptly exploited Russia’s lack of manoeuvre, frustrating the Russian advance and inflicting heavy losses on invading forces.”
This comes as one of Putin's closest allies has admitted Russia's invasion of Ukraine have not gone to plan.
Viktor Zolotov, chief of Russia's national guard and apart of Putin's security council, said progress of the invasion had been slower than expected.
He said: "I would like to say that yes, not everything is going as fast as we would like," Zolotov said in comments posted on the National Guard's website.
"But we are going towards our goal step by step and victory will be for us."
Zolotov has been at Putin's side since before the turn of the century and has spent the last 13 years in charge of his personal security.
His comments, made at a church service led by Orthodox Patriarch Kirill on Sunday, have reflected reports from Western intelligence and mark a departure from official Kremlin lines so far.
This comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine comes to the end of its third week.
In that time, Russia has lost four major generals and nearly a dozen high-ranking officers.
It has sustained heavier casualties than Ukraine, and lost more tanks than Germany has in its army.
It was reported, Russia initially planned a ‘lightning invasion’ that would have seen Putin’s forces sweep the country and take Kyiv in a matter of days.
However, now the Kremlin finds itself in protracted warfare against Ukraine’s forces and negotiating with the government it hoped to oust.
Russia’s invasion has reportedly been plagued with issues such as low morale and supply issues.
A number of videos have circulated on social media, showing Russian vehicles running out of fuel.
Russia has maintained the invasion is going to plan, but reports from US intelligence officials have said they have been asking China for military equipment since the beginning of the invasion.
After initial failures to conquer Ukraine's cities, Russia has turned to relentless shelling and bombing of civilian targets.
The deadly invasion has led to thousands of deaths and has led to over three million refugees having fled from their homes since February 24.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees said, that as of March 15, 3,063,095 Ukrainians had left their homes.
Over half of these, 1,857,045, have entered into Poland, the main destination of refugees so far, but it is not known how many intend to stay here, or move in to other countries.
Despite its size, Moldova has taken in 344,454 people, the most per capita of any nation.
Over 150,000 Ukrainians, largely from the country’s eastern regions, have fled into Russia.
