Ukraine's strategy is to hold off Russia for 7 to 10 days, says senior government official.
The goal is to contain Russia to prevent it from claiming any kind of victory in future negotiations.
KYIV (REUTERS) - Ukraine should delay Russia's attack for the next seven to 10 days to prevent Moscow from claiming any kind of victory, a senior government official said.
Vadym Denysenko, advisor to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, said that Russia is desperate for at least some kind of victory, citing the cities of Mariupol or the capital Kyiv as the most likely targets.
"They need at least some kind of victory before they are forced into final negotiations," he wrote on Facebook. "Therefore, our task is to stand firm for the next 7 to 10 days."
Britain said on Wednesday (March 9) that Ukraine's air defenses were succeeding against Russian jets, likely preventing Russia from controlling the airspace.
"Ukrainian air defenses appear to have had considerable success against Russia's modern combat aircraft, likely preventing them from achieving any degree of air control," the Defense Ministry's intelligence update on Twitter said.
Britain's assessment also considers that Russian forces failed to make significant advances in the fighting northwest of Kiev.
Russia said it will provide humanitarian corridors on Wednesday (9) for people fleeing Kiev and four other Ukrainian cities. The only operational corridor is that of the city of Sumy, which opened on Tuesday.
Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia's National Defense Control Center, was quoted by the TASS news agency as saying that Russian forces would "observe a regime of silence" starting this morning to ensure the safe passage of civilians wishing to leave Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Mariupol.
It is unclear whether the proposed routes would pass through Russia or Belarus, conditions previously contested by the Ukrainian government.
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Tuesday that authorities had once again failed to evacuate civilians from Mariupol.
Civilians fled the besieged city of Sumy on Tuesday in the first successful “humanitarian corridor” opened since the Russian invasion. Ukraine accused Russian forces of shelling another evacuation route from Mariupol in the south of the country.