Pentagon official: Russia wants to ‘decapitate’ Ukraine’s government

Russia’s three-pronged ground attack into neighboring Ukraine, primarily targeting airports and military facilities such as barracks and ammo dumps, is the initial phase into what appears to be a push by the Kremlin to “decapitate” the pro-Western government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

U.S. officials are still trying to pin down the exact strategy of the major Russian offensive, with reports of bombing and helicopter attacks near major cities around the country, but no clear vision of the Russian military endgame.

“They are making a move on Kyiv. What they’re going to do in Kyiv, it’s hard to say,” the official told reporters at the Pentagon. “We don’t know exactly where things are going to unfold.”

Mr. Putin in announcing the “special military operation,” said its purpose was the “demilitarization and denazification” of Ukraine in order to protect pro-Russian separatist enclaves Russia now recognizes as independent states. But the Pentagon and many private analysts say they can only likely be achieved if Mr. Zelenskyy and his pro-Western government are removed from the picture.

The three main routes of the Russian advance so far are south from Belarus; north from occupied Crimea and from Belgorod in Russia to Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine, the official said.

“We have not seen the Russians thus far move into the western part of Ukraine,” he said, adding that their intentions could change as the situation develops on the battlefield.

Intelligence indicates that the Russians used about 75 heavy and medium bombers during the initial attack on Ukraine.

“We do not have a good sense of total damage — as you might expect — and we do not have a good sense of casualties, civilian or military,” the official said.

U.S. officials have repositioned some forces currently within NATO countries to others closer to the scene of the conflict. The senior Defense official said six U.S. F-35 jet fighters are expected to arrive Thursday in the Baltics, two each to Estonia, Lithuania and Romania.

While intelligence during a battle is often spotty, U.S. officials said they’ve confirmed that Ukraine is putting up a fight, even when opposed by a more powerful country like Russia.

“We’ve seen indications that they are resisting and fighting,” the official said. “We’re going to look to continuing to provide both lethal and non-lethal assistance.”