Western officials today accused Russian troops of disliking fighting in the Ukraine rain.
Invading Kremlin forces are reluctant to wage war in bad weather in the eastern Donbas region, they claimed.
One said: “The Russians continue to build up forces in and around the Donbas, that’s an ongoing process.
“They are making minor gains but when they come up against genuine military objectives they are finding it difficult to overcome the staunch Ukrainian resistance and they are suffering losses.
“It’s not helped by the weather conditions at the moment in the Donbas, where it’s heavy rain - the Russians don’t like to fight in the rain, and that is slowing their progress.”
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The official also slammed the invaders’ “poor tactical awareness” of their environment.
They said the “reconstitution of their forces” following the withdrawal from around the capital Kyiv was “taking longer than they expected”.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin cutting off Russian gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria is likely to backfire on Russia, the Western officials warned.
The Kremlin threatened to starve other European countries of fuel after turning off the taps for the two nations for rejecting its demand to pay in roubles.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Gazprom's announcement was yet another attempt by Russia to use gas as an instrument of blackmail.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed Moscow was a reliable energy supplier and was not engaging in blackmail.
The Western officials said stopping gas to Poland and Bulgaria would mean other countries switching to other suppliers.
One said: “This really does underline the reason why it is now necessary for us to reduce our dependence on Russian hydrocarbons.
"That action is likely to be counterproductive in really demonstrating to everybody why a dependence on Russia makes them vulnerable to coercion of this nature.
The officials also blasted Kremlin claims the West was locked in a “proxy war” with Moscow.
One said: "There is a Russian narrative that this is a proxy war between Russia and NATO; it isn't, we are supporting Ukraine in their self-defence.
“It is a conflict between Russia and Ukraine provoked by Russia's illegal aggression.
“We are entitled to provide military support to any state exercising its right to self-defence and that is lawful.”
