Civilian hiding in bomb shelter says Russians soldiers are getting 'clobbered'
The Ukraine resident says Russia 'has no chance' in taking over
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A civilian hiding in a bomb shelter said on Friday that Russia has no chance in taking over Ukraine.
"I can tell you that I am here with an awful lot – a group of really angry people. They believe that if he occupies the country, then he has another thing coming for him. Apparently, according to official stats, there has been 2,800 Russian troops killed in Ukraine just today," Mychailo Wynnyckyj, associate professor at National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, told "The Story w/ Martha McCallum" on Friday.
Wynnyckyj said that is about half of what was killed over the 20 years of the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"In other words, in two days, the Russians have gotten clobbered," Wynnyckyj said.
UKRAINE INVASION: NATO DEPLOYING RESPONSE FORCE FOR FIRST TIME TO COUNTER PUTIN
Several buildings in Starobilsk within the Luhansk Oblast region of Ukraine show significant damage because of shelling, according to images shared by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine)
Wynnyckyj's comments came after a report emerged hat Russian military forces have not made the kinds of gains they expected in Ukraine. Russian forces have faced more resistance than anticipated from Ukrainian forces, according to a senior U.S. defense official.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After two days of war, Ukrainian command and control is still intact, and no population centers have been taken. And Russia has yet to achieve air superiority, with Ukraine’s air and missile defense capability still working, though degraded, the defense official told reporters Friday.
"The Russians have lost a little bit of their momentum," the defense official told reporters, speaking on background.
The official added, "In general we assess the Russian forces are encountering greater resistance than they expected."
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Despite Ukraine’s effort in warding off Russian forces, they need the United States’ help.
"Yeah, we are getting clobbered at the moment because they’ve got air superiority over us at the moment," Wynnyckyj said. "Any kind of ground advances are being stopped. The stories that I’ve seen today are absolutely amazing, in terms of shooting down paratroopers before they land on the ground."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We desperately need air support. We desperately need a no-fly zone in this country … we are asking Americans help us with that," he continued. "But you know what? If we get a no-fly zone, we will be able to handle things on our own over here. Because these Russians have absolutely no chance of doing anything in this country."
Fox News' Marisa Schultz , Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.