A senior U.S. defense official said Moscow’s offensive is going much slower than planned.

Ukrainian military fights back Russian advances in the south and east, where the Kremlin is attempting to take control of Ukraine’s industrial Donbas area.

The United Nations attempted to mediate a civilian evacuation from Mariupol’s increasingly desolate ruins.

According to the mayor, the situation inside the steel plant has become appalling.

It is the last stronghold in the southern port city.

Mayor Vadym Boichenko said, “Citizens are begging to get saved.”

The U.S. believes the Russians are “at least several days behind where they wanted to be.”

The official said, their progress has been “slow and uneven and certainly not decisive.”

British Defense Ministry stated that the Russian forces in Ukraine are likely suffering from “weakened morale.”

They have a lack of unit-level skills and “inconsistent air support.”