Russian Kyiv convoy
[2][3][4] On 4 March 2022, The Economist declared that the slow pace and seemingly disorganised military formation was representative of Russia's problems in the war in general.
[14][15] Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT, had made similar remarks about Russia being able to "defeat Ukraine in 2 days".
[28] However, according to a 7 March 2022 intelligence update from the UK Defence Ministry, "The main body of the large Russian column advancing on Kyiv remains over 30 km from the centre of the city having been delayed by staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown and congestion.
[31] It is not known how effective these were, because elsewhere, Ukrainian Baykar Bayraktar TB2 drones had successfully attacked and "destroyed three [Russian] SAM missile systems and four 152mm artillery pieces, along with more than 10 trucks and several tanks" by 1 March.
[36]: 20:53 Ukrainian commanders were therefore considering using them against the convoy, but they had relatively few deployable TB2 drones, few military personnel were trained to operate them effectively, and Russian forces might be able to track them and shoot them down via their radio emissions.
[35] Moreover, by 3 March, aviation researcher Justin Bronk stated that Russian forces appeared to have moved more air defence systems forward, including around the column.
[47] On 3 March 2022, CNN cited former Finnish defense intelligence expert Martti Kari in saying that, strategically, the stalled column presented two main threats to its ongoing campaign.
[47] On 11 March, a senior U.S. defense official stated that Ukrainian forces had made several attacks on the convoy with ground fire, such as shoulder-fired FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles delivered by Western countries.
On 3 March, Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District, was killed by Ukrainian sniper fire when he ventured to the front of the stalled convoy.
[30] Ukrainian Aerorozvidka group also assisted with their own-built drones, some capable of dropping up to 1.5 kg bombs and firing rocket-propelled anti-tank grenades.
While the bulk of the convoy remained on the road, some parts, including artillery, had left the main column and started taking up positions near Hostomel.
"[53] On 2 April 2022, the whole of Kyiv Oblast, where the military column was deployed, was declared free of invaders by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense after Russian troops had left the area.
