Russian forces are still stumbling, British intelligence officials said.

Russian forces are still faltering in the country’s war against Ukraine as they shift focus to the eastern Donbas region, the British Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

Russia’s progress was being hampered by the same “environmental, logistical and technical challenges that have beset them so far,” the ministry said on Twitter, referencing Russian forces’ chaotic and failed early efforts.

The resilience of Ukrainian forces was also a factor, the ministry said, reporting that Ukraine had fended off several attempted advances from Russian troops.

The Russian offensive is expected to take on a more methodical approach as it narrows its focus to Donbas.

Still, the British Defense Ministry pointed to the enduring Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol as a sign of Russia’s “continued failure to achieve their aims as quickly as they would like,” despite indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Read more

@nytimes