(FiveNation.com)- In just two weeks’ time, Russia has shot off more than 710 missiles against neighboring Ukraine in its massive invasion of the country.
On Wednesday, a senior official with the Defense Department said there have been indications at the Pentagon that Russian military forces are dropping what are referred to as “dumb bombs.”
This type of munition isn’t guided by precision technology. As a result, they are severely limited in their ability to hit their intended targets with accuracy, especially compared to the more modern precision bombs.
At this point, the official said it isn’t clear whether Russia is using these dumb bombs by choice or whether it’s doing so by default because their precision capabilities have been damaged.
No matter what the reason, the official said that the American government is observing “increasing damage to civilian infrastructure and civilian casualties” with Russia using both missiles and bombs in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian government accused Russia of dropping bombs on a maternity ward and a children’s hospital in Mariupol, which is a vital port city in the country.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, sent a tweet after the attack happened that read:
“Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital. People, children are under the wreckage. Atrocity! How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror?
“Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity.”
In the two weeks since Russia first invaded Ukraine, the Communist country has specifically targeted various hospitals throughout the country. These attacks have resulted in the hospitals being either completely destroyed or damaged, according to accounts being compiled by some Ukrainian journalists.
Much of the military force has been through the air, as the senior U.S. defense official said the Pentagon has seen “no real ground progress to speak to except in a couple of places.”
The official added that Russian military forces are inching ever closer to Kharkiv. This week, the forces have gained roughly 12 miles, which puts them just outside the confines of the city.
In addition, Russian military forces are currently approximately nine miles north of the city Mykolaiv.
Russian forces have made “no significant movements” toward either Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv or Chernihiv.
At this point, the senior U.S. defense official said Russia still has at its disposal more than 90% of its available power for combat. The other roughly 10% have been either destroyed or damaged by Ukrainian fighters.
U.S. officials have estimated that, so far, anywhere between 2,000 to 4,000 Russian troops have been killed during the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Those numbers were presented during the annual worldwide threats hearing at Congress on Tuesday by Scott Berrier, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
At that same hearing, Bill Burns, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin is “likely to double down and grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties.”
