Russian forces are still about 25 kilometers (more than 15 miles) outside of the city center of Kyiv in the north, and Russian forces remain 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) outside of the city centers of Chernihiv and Kharkiv in the north, a senior US defense official told reporters on Friday.
In Kharkiv and Chernihiv, being 10 kilometers away from the city center “equates to really being on the outskirts of the city,” because of the way the city is spread out, the official said.
The US does see more success for Russian forces in the south. The US does not dispute reports that Kherson has been taken by Russian forces, but has no way to independently verify those claims, the official said.
The US is also seeing fighting between Ukrainians and Russians near the city of Mykolaiv in the south, the official said. Mykolaiv is northwest of Kherson.
The Russians have not taken the southern city of Mariupol yet, according to US observations, but there is continued fighting there, the official said.
“We have observed Russian forces continue to advance on Mariupol, but we don’t assess that they’re in there, they are obviously bombarding that city as well,” the official said
“We continue to believe that the Russians want to move on Mariupol from the north as well as moving up that coast on the Sea of Azov,” the official added.