Russia had already taken control of the decommissioned Chernobyl plant, located about 100 km north of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
The Russian Information Agency quoted the Ministry of Defense as saying that orders were issued on Saturday to all Russian units in Ukraine to resume their offensive from all directions, after stopping on Friday.
The ministry said, repeating similar comments from the Kremlin, that the pause Friday came in anticipation of talks between Moscow and Kiev, but the attack resumed after Ukraine refused to negotiate.
On the other hand, a US defense official said, on Saturday, that the frustration of Russian forces is growing in neighboring Ukraine due to what the United States sees as continuing resistance.
“We know they haven’t made the progress they wanted to make, especially in the north. They were frustrated by what they saw as the desperate resistance,” the official added.
For its part, the British Ministry of Defense stated that the Russian advance has likely witnessed a temporary slowdown, as a result of severe logistical difficulties and the intensity of the Ukrainian resistance.
The assessment of the British Ministry of Defense came in a periodic briefing based on intelligence information it published on Twitter.
“Russian forces are bypassing the main Ukrainian population centers, while leaving forces to encircle and isolate them,” she said.
She added, “It is possible that a limited number of pre-positioned Russian groups were involved in the clashes that took place last night. The control of Kiev remains Russia’s primary military objective.”