Russian troops use their tank to loot a gas station amid 'morale issues' as 'desperate' generals try to restart stalled advance and Ukrainian ambushes play havoc with their supply lines
resh CCTV footage of Russian soldiers driving their tank to a gas station in Kherson, Ukraine, to loot for food has highlighted the logistical problems faced by Putin's ill-prepared invasion force.
Kherson is the first and only major Ukrainian city to have fallen fully under Russian control, but there have been widespread reports of fuel supply issues and food shortages as the Ukrainian army and civilian defence forces continue to fight the invaders.Western intelligence suggests the Kremlin's troops were not prepared for a protracted military conflict, and their advances have been largely stalled, leaving frontline troops desperate for food.
It comes amid reports that captured Russian troops were found to be carrying rations that had expired several years ago, while many of those who were taken as prisoners or surrendered have protested they did not want to go to war in Ukraine.
Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) military scientist Justin Bronk told MailOnline that extremely poor planning, morale and coordination among Russian forces means their 'initial aims of overthrowing the Ukrainian government in Kyiv and setting up a client state in its place are no longer achievable.'
Bronk also said that the Ukrainian army has successfully targeted Russian supply lines, meaning that tired and hungry soldiers on the frontlines will be forced to ransack towns and villages in search of provisions.
Meanwhile, one senior US defence official speaking on condition of anonymity told Voice of America that the increase in Russia's indiscriminate bombing campaigns witnessed in cities such as Mariupol and Kyiv is 'a desperate attempt to gain some momentum because they are stuck where they are'.
CCTV footage taken from a gas station in Kherson and timestamped March 20 shows a group of Russian soldiers pulling up outside the gas station in what appears to be a BMD-2 tank.
The soldiers hop out of their vehicle before the video cuts to footage from above the cash register, where the troops are seen ransacking the store. Discarded products such as toilet rolls and packets of food litter the floor as the Russian soldiers grab armfuls of supplies
It is the latest in a string of videos from around Ukraine displaying Russian troops looting everything from convenience stores to farmyards in search of provisions to sustain their occupation. The Ukrainian army has organised several counter attacks, ambushing Russian supply lines to prevent aid from reaching frontline troops (Russian armoured vehicle smoulders in the aftermath of a counter attack)
Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) military scientist Justin Bronk told MailOnline that extremely poor planning, morale and coordination among Russian forces, coupled with strong Ukrainian resistance, means their 'initial aims of overthrowing the Ukrainian government in Kyiv and setting up a client state in its place are no longer achievable' (destroyed Russian tank pictured)CCTV footage taken from a gas station in Kherson and timestamped March 20 shows a group of Russian soldiers pulling up outside the gas station in what appears to be a BMD-2 tank.
The soldiers hop out of their vehicle before the video cuts to footage from above the cash register, where the troops are seen ransacking the store.
Discarded products such as toilet rolls and packets of food litter the floor as the Russian soldiers grab armfuls of supplies.
It is the latest in a string of videos from around Ukraine displaying Russian troops looting everything from convenience stores to farmyards in search of provisions to sustain their occupation.
Bronk told MailOnline that the Ukrainian army has done an excellent job of ambushing Russian supply trucks and fuel tankers, cutting off many of Putin's frontline troops from vital supplies, while simultaneously managing to hold open their own resupply corridors. Prof Michael Clarke, RUSI's former director general, said last week that the Russian forces appeared 'completely unprepared for a major campaign' and praised the 'effective counter attacks' of Ukrainian forces in stalling Russia's momentum and inflicting major losses.
Conservative estimates put Russia's troop losses at around 7,000, with between 15-20,000 more injured according to US officials, while Ukraine alleges that the Russian death toll is in fact far higher.
But the Russian army's failure on the ground has led to more death and destruction, with Putin's troops instead resorting to sustained bombing campaigns designed to pound Ukraine's urban centres into submission.
The port city of Mariupol, some 250 miles east of Kherson, has suffered constant Russian air and missile strikes for over two weeks, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians with thousands more trapped with little food or water.
Video footage emerged earlier today of a Russian TOS-1a 'Heavy Flamethrower system' launching a salvo of devastating thermobaric rockets towards the city, representing a marked increase in the ferocity of their attacks.
Bodies of civilians killed during the Russian bombardment of Mariupol are laid out in a park as they await burial by soldiers defending the city, on Sunday
Local residents take cover as they hear blasts during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol
This image, taken from a video clip released by the Donetsk People's Republic, shows a TOS1a launch system deploying a salvo of thermobaric rockets aimed at Mariupol
Russia also kept up its bombardment of other Ukrainian cities today, hitting a shopping mall and several apartments in the capital Kyiv in the early hours - reducing the former to rubble.
Bombings in the surrounded city of Sumy also hit an ammonia plant, sparking an evacuation.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Kherson, footage was captured of Russian soldiers shooting at protestors who had congregated in the city's main square to demonstrate against their occupation.
Video taken by protestors showed one man bleeding heavily from the leg after being shot during a demonstration.
Russian forces used firearms as well as stun grenades to try and disperse the protesters, the Interfax news agency reported.
Kherson has been the scene of near-daily protests since it became the first major city to fall to Russian forces early during the war.
At least one person has been injured after protesters came under fire by Russian troops in the occupied city of Kherson, according to local reports, with images from the scene showing a man bleeding heavily from his leg (above)
On Sunday, demonstrators managed to turn back a military convoy after blocking a road.
Putin's men have been accused of firing 'warning shots' before, but until now had not opened fire directly on activists.
Ukraine says thousands of civilians have been killed by Russian forces since Vladimir Putin gave the order to attack on February 24, with his men stepping up indiscriminate shelling of cities after an initial offensive stalled.
Officials in Mariupol say up to 20,000 people may have died in that city alone, but there is no accurate country-wide figure.
The UN says it has confirmed 902 civilians killed and 1,459 injured, but caveats the figure by saying it is almost certainly lower than the actual total.
Video captured the moment several blasts hit the crowd (left and right), apparently from stun grenades, sending people running for cover and leaving at least one man wounded
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