ON THE BRINK
RUSSIAN troops are set to run out of food, fuel and ammunition in just three days and the war could be over in weeks, Ukraine has claimed.
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence said Russia's advance remained stalled overnight as Vladimir Putin's troops face growing supply problems and fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces.
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The ministry said Ukrainian forces carried out a series of "devastating strikes" on Russian troops and "conducted air battles and intercepted air targets" in the last 24 hours.
And intelligence suggests Russia's forces now only have enough food for another three days.
It said in a statement: "According to the available information, Russian occupation forces operating on the territory of Ukraine have ammunition and food supplies for no more than three days.
"The situation is similar with fuel, which is replenished by tank trucks. The occupiers were unable to organize a pipeline to meet the needs of the grouping of troops."
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Putin expected a quick victory when he ordered the invasion on February 23 - but his forces have faced fierce resistance.
The invasion has seen Russian pilots blasted out of the sky, tanks ambushed and videos of sobbing soldiers after surrendering to the Ukrainians.
Ukraine claims to have killed around 15,000 Russian troops and to have destroyed a large amount of equipment.
And Russia has admitted it has lost nearly 10,000 troops in the invasion.
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Oleksiy Arestovych, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, said the "active hostilities" between the two sides could end in just two to three weeks.
He said taking control of the capital Kyiv was still clearly a priority for Russia - but trying to do so would be "suicide" for Moscow.
And defence experts claimed Putin could only have ten days to win the war in Ukraine before his forces buckle.
Both a senior UK defence source and the former commander of US forces said the game could soon be up for Russia.
“Ukraine has Russia on the run,” the source told the Daily Mail.
“It is running out of manpower and running out of energy. As long as we keep pressing they've got ten to 14 days before reaching their culminating point.
“That's when the strength of Ukraine's resistance should become greater than Russia's attacking force.”
Meanwhile, retired US army General Ben Hodges has predicted Russian forces will be unable to continue their assault on Ukraine three days from now – if Ukraine can hold out that long.
“Russia’s decision to transition to a war of attrition – they’re smashing cities, putting civilians on the road because of fear of being murdered – they need three things to do this,” Gen Hodges told MSNBC.
“And they don’t have those three things. They don’t have the time, they don’t have the manpower, and I don’t think they have the ammunition.
"That means they won’t be able to continue the attack."
'GATES OF EUROPE'
And President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Italian parliament his country was on the brink of surviving the war with Russia.
He said Putin wanted to break through to the rest of Europe - but he "must not be allowed to pass".
"For Russian troops, Ukraine is the gates of Europe, where they want to break in, but barbarism must not be allowed to pass," Mr Zelensky said.
"The most terrible thing will be the famine that is approaching for some countries.
"Ukraine has always been one of the largest food exporters, but how can we sow [crops] under the strikes of Russian artillery?"
Countries such as Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen and others have come to rely on Ukrainian wheat in recent years and the war has caused wheat prices to skyrocket - rising by 50 per cent in the last month.
Replying to Zelenskiy, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that Ukraine had offered "heroic" resistance to the Russian invasion and promised continued support for refugees.
"The arrogance of the Russian government has collided with the dignity of the Ukrainian people, who have managed to curb Moscow's expansionist aims and impose a huge cost on the invading army," Draghi told parliament.
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The battle for Ukraine's cities is thundering across its suburbs, with the Ukrainian military retaking a key neighbourhood near Kyiv on Tuesday.
But the invading Russian forces' increasing air raids have caused uncounted deaths and sent more than 3.5 million people fleeing.
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