There has been much speculation about Russian troops being bogged down in Ukraine and not being able to make a lightning advance. Some defence experts are of the view that this is due to Russia not having control of the railway network in Ukraine which has given rise to a logistics problem.
According to defence experts, unlike the western forces, the Russian army depends heavily on railways for its logistics support. However, since they do not have control of the railway junctions in Ukraine they cannot use the railway network and have to move ammunition, weapons and fuel by road. This has slowed down their advance as the structure of the Russian army is such that they do not have sufficient trucks for logistics.
The focus on Kharkiv as a key objective is seen as part of the strategy to gain control of the railway junction.
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Apart from the stiffer than expected resistance from Ukraine’s armed forces, the lack of access to rail transport is seen as a major impediment in Russia’s advance.
“Because of its reliance on rail and pipelines, Russia maintains fewer logistical battalions per combat unit to move material by road than NATO counterparts,” Bloomberg News cited Alex Vershinin, recently retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army, as saying.
“Those logistical issues can be fixed and the stalling of a massive convoy north of Kyiv in recent days may even be partly a matter of choice, as commanders regroup, learn lessons and develop a new strategy for securing the capital,” Vershinin explained.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also indicated that he would give his forces the time they need. He said on television that the special military operation in Ukraine was "going strictly according to plan."
Vershinin told Bloomberg News that the railway infrastructure in Ukraine can't be used to bring supplies until troops control key junctions such as Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv in the north, or Kherson, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia in the south.
He has also pointed out that trucks can't move off road because of muddy conditions which will cause them to get stuck. The roads south to Kyiv pass through not just muddy fields, but the Pripyat marshes.
