against an overwhelming force. so the russians have had very, very tough going north of kyiv in large part because of fierce resistance, but also because of the trafficability of the ground. it s been different elsewhere in the country not because the ukrainians haven t fought harder, but because it s more amenable to open maneuver and the russians have been able to move their forces, amass their forces and able to more isolate some of the ukrainian defenders. so there is a russian move in the south. it s moving up toward kyiv. that is a major concern. there s also a situation as far as kyiv is concerned that you have russian forces encircling mariupol. you have kharkiv under shelling as well. these two cities are in the east. they could fall within days, maybe a little bit longer, but they will fall. some have suggested that then gives russia effective control of eastern ukraine, which cuts off the capital from ukrainian
because it s more amenable to open maneuver, and the russians have been able to move their forces. they ve been able to mass their forces, and they ve been able to more isolate some of the ukrainian defenders. so there is a russian move in the south that s moving up toward kyiv, and that is a major concern. there s also a situation as far as kyiv is concerned that you have russian forces encircling mariupol. you have kharkiv, which is under this heavy constant shelling as well. these two cities are in the east, and they could fall within days, maybe a little bit longer, but they will fall. some have suggested that then gives russia effective control of eastern ukraine, which cuts off the capital from ukrainian forces. so this could really quickly turn in putin s favor. so what russia really wants is they really want that corridor open through mariupol. that gives them the land bridge to crimea, and it also helps open the way to odesa.
no water. we have mothers who don t even have formula or diapers for their kids. we have i mean our hotline is receiving calls for people wanting safety, for people in psychological distress. so the needs are huge, and for the icrc, it s very important to start responding. we started in mariupol and kyiv. mariupol, we visited shelters yesterday to distribute some food and essential hygiene items and water for more than 4,000 disp displaced people. in kyiv, we re giving medical equipment to hospitals much needed for trauma surgery, burns, gunshot wounds, et cetera. but it s very important also, security permitting, to be able to expand. we re already working in several locations in the east, but now that the conflict has spread, it s very important that humanitarian organizations like the icrc are given are
within the realm of possibility. that was antonio guterres. joining me now, australian army major general mick ryan. he s the author of the book war transformed the future. thanks for joining us. let me ask you a little bit about what your assessment is of the russian troop advance. they ve still not taken kyiv. they re encircling mariupol. they ve taken some of the smaller urban targets, but they re only inching closer to the capital. where do you see this going from the russian side? well, hello, hala. over the last 48 hours, we ve seen almost no russian progress at all, whether it s in the stated aim of surrounding kyiv or the northeastern activities around kharkiv or in the south. in almost all of these fronts, the russians have stalled, and indeed they re very close to