Airspace over Ukraine still being contested amid Russian invasion, senior US defense official says

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The airspace over Ukraine is still being contested as Ukrainian forces continue to fight back against the Russian invasion, according to a senior U.S. defense official on Sunday. 

"That means that the Ukrainians are still using both aircraft, and their own air and missile defense systems, which we believe are still intact and still viable," said the official in an off-camera press briefing released by the Department of Defense. "Though they have been, as I said yesterday, there's been some degradation by the Russians."

Roughly two-thirds of Russian forces located along the border have now been committed inside Ukraine, an increase from 24 hours earlier when about half of those forces were committed inside the country, the official said. 

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This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the aftermath of combat with grass fires and damage caused by recent airstrikes and heavy fighting with the Russians in and near the Antonov Airport, in Hostomel, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. (Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies via AP)

The Russian momentum during the invasion has slowed, and there was no indication that the Russian military has taken control of any major cities in Ukraine, despite that being their goal, the official said. 

Russia is continuing to advance in three major "axes" of Ukraine since beginning an invasion early Thursday. 

But the Russian forces continue to face stiff resistance from Ukraine, along with fuel and logistics shortages in their advance on Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city located near the border with Russia in the east. 

A cameraman films as an armored vehicle rolls outside Mykolaivka, Donetsk region, the territory controlled by pro-Russian militants, eastern Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. Fighting also raged in two eastern territories controlled by pro-Russia separatists. (AP Photo)

"We believe that their advance was slowed both by resistance by the Ukrainians who have been quite creative in finding ways to attack columns, and number two, by the fuel source shortages and the sustainment issues that they have had," the official said. 

Russian forces remain about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the city center in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. 

Despite their recent shortcomings, the official warned the Russians still had an "awful lot of combat power, that is viable and arrayed in and outside Ukraine."

Some reconnaissance elements were in Kyiv in recent days, with reports indicating that they were wearing Ukrainian uniforms to disguise themselves. 

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"But they have been in some cases identified by locals, and by the Ukrainian military, again, right out of the Russian playbook here," the official said. 

In the south, Russian forces were moving northeast and were within about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the city center of Mariupol.

"Our assessment is that Mariupol is defended. And the Ukrainians will put up a resistance there," the official stated. 

In this photo provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. A MiG-31 fighter of the Russian air force takes off at an air base during military drills in Tver region, Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Russia has launched more than 320 missiles during the invasion, with the majority of them being short-range ballistic missiles. 

There are also indications that the Russians are adopting siege tactics around the city of Chernihiv, which sits to the northeast of Kyiv, the official said.

The next 24 hours were crucial for Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a telephone call with United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday, according to Reuters. 

As for Vladimir Putin, the official didn't doubt reports that indicated the Russian president placed his country's nuclear deterrence forces on high alert. 

"We have no reason to doubt the validity of these reports," the official said, calling the step by Putin "unnecessary" and "escalatory."

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"We remain confident in our ability to defend ourselves and our allies, and our partners. And that includes in the strategic deterrent realm," the official added.