Russian troops are retreating and deserting and have been repelled from strategic Kyiv suburb which could stop Putin's forces from surrounding the capital, Ukraine claims

• Ukraine's armed forces said Moscow has lost its 'offensive potential' in their attempts to capture Makariv
• Located 37 miles from Kyiv, Makariv is seen as a strategic location to help Putin's forces surround the capital 
• Russian forces have enough supplies to last 'no more than three days', Ukraine's generals also claimed today 
• Putin's men are running low on food, fuel and ammunition due to logistical failings that have stalled attacks 
• Ukrainian troops claim to have re-taken city of Makariv, near Kyiv, while attacks on Mariupol were 'repulsed' 
• But failing attacks could spell more death for Ukrainians, as Joe Biden warns Putin is thinking about using chemical and biological weapons because his 'back is against the wall' 

By CHRIS PLEASANCE  and STEPHEN WYNN-DAVIES FOR MAILONLINE- 22 March 2022

Russian troops are retreating after being repelled from a strategic Kyiv suburb, Ukraine has claimed, in a move which could stop Vladimir Putin's forces from surrounding the capital.

Ukraine’s armed forces said Moscow has lost its 'offensive potential' and reinforcements were being called in from the 'depths' of Russia to help them capture Makariv, a city located 37 miles from Kyiv.

Ukrainian forces have been fighting back in Makariv in order to prevent Russian forces from surrounding the capital.

The armed forces claimed the 'heroic actions of our defenders' have forced Russian troops back while a counterattack in the south has pushed Putin's forces in the direction of Mykolayiv, a city near the Black Sea.

In an update issued today, Ukraine's armed forces said: 'Having lost the offensive potential, the Russian occupying troops continue forming and deploying the reserves from the depths of the Russian Federation to the borders of Ukraine.'

Elsewhere, the Ukrainian think tank, The Centre for Defence Strategies claimed that Russian troops in the Okhtyrka region of Sumy 'left the area of operations' in order to 'choose desertion to avoid death' and in Havronshchyna, in the Makariv district, that Russians had stolen cars to drive towards the border with Belarus.

It comes after Kyiv's generals today claimed Vladimir Putin's troops only have enough food, fuel and ammunition for another three days of fighting in Ukraine, while attacks on the besieged city of Mariupol were turned back and offensives elsewhere in the country remained stalled.

Logistical failings by Russian forces including their inability to establish a fuel pipeline to supply troops at the front has left them facing the imminent prospect of running out, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed in their morning update.

Meanwhile British intelligence said attempts by Moscow to capture the southern city of Mariupol - seen as a key target for Putin to be able to claim any semblance of success in his 'special military operation' - 'continue to be repulsed' amidst heavy fighting. 

Offensives elsewhere in the country - such as in the cities of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv - 'have endured yet another day of limited progress with most forces largely stalled', the Ministry of Defence added.

Some analysts have questioned whether Russia is capable of capturing Kyiv after its failure to take other key cities and towns. Lord Dannatt, a former head of the British Army, told Sky News Russia was 'hunkering down for a long fight in Kyiv' but do not have the 'motivation or the will to push into the centre'. 

Ukraine's assessment tallies with other Western experts who predicted that Russian forces are likely to reach 'culmination' this week, the point at which supplies built up for initial attacks will run out - forcing Russia to stop its offensive and start defending while waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

Taking an 'operational pause' will leave Russian troops vulnerable to counter-attack by Ukrainian forces, who today claimed to have re-taken the city of Makariv on the outskirts of Kyiv - capturing a key highway in the process and allowing them to block Russian troops from surrounding the city from the northwest.

But it does not mean that Putin's army has been defeated or that a ceasefire is imminent. Evidence from the battlefield so-far shows that that Russia's tactics are likely to become more brutal and bloody the longer its forces remain stuck. Western leaders, Joe Biden chief among them, have been warning of the risk that Russia will use biological or chemical weapons because Putin's 'back is against the wall'.  

Russia's troops will run out of food, fuel and ammunition within three days, Ukraine's generals have predicted today, due to logistical failings in Vladimir Putin's 'special military operation' (pictured, a destroyed Russian vehicle near Kharkiv)

The Kremlin appears to have planned for a days-long war that has now lasted almost a month with heavier-than-expected casualties after its forces met with stiff resistance (pictured, a destroyed Russian vehicle near Kharkiv)

Shortcomings by military planners have left Russian convoys vulnerable to Ukrainian ambushes which has deprived troops of the resources they need to fight (pictured, a destroyed truck near the city of Kharkiv)

Ukraine estimates that Russia has lost 1,500 armoured personnel carriers, 500 tanks, and more than 15,000 troops - though those numbers have not been verified (pictured, a blown-up personnel carrier)

Western experts had predicted that this week would be when Russian forces would reach 'culmination' - the point at which supplies would run low enough that they would have to swap from attack to defence (pictured, a destroyed vehicle)

Russia's invasion has driven more than 10 million people from their homes, a number similar to the population of Portugal and almost a quarter of Ukraine's pre-war population, according to the United Nations. 

The U.N. has confirmed over 900 civilian deaths while saying the real toll is probably much higher. Estimates of Russian military deaths vary, but even conservative figures are in the low thousands.

Beyond the terrible human toll, the war has shaken the post-Cold War global security consensus and repeatedly raised worries it could set off a nuclear accident. 

Ukraine's natural resources minister said wildfires near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine have been extinguished and radiation levels in the area are within norms. 

Fires are not uncommon in the area, but raise concern about the potential release of radiation from fallout from the 1986 explosion and fire at the plant.

Concerns have been expressed for safety at the decommissioned plant since it was seized by Russian forces last month. The power supply was temporarily cut amid fighting earlier this month, and Ukraine's nuclear regulatory agency said Monday that radiation monitors around the plant had stopped working.

Facing unexpectedly stiff resistance, Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces are increasingly concentrating their air power and artillery on Ukraine's cities and the civilians living there.

U.S. and British officials say Kyiv remains Russia's primary objective. The bulk of Moscow's forces remain miles from the center, but missiles and artillery have destroyed apartment buildings and a large shopping mall, which was left a smoking ruin after being hit late Sunday by strikes that killed eight people.

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the military's assessment, said Russia had increased air sorties over the past two days, carrying out as many as 300 over a 24-hour period, and has fired more than 1,100 missiles into Ukraine since the invasion began.

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