Ex-NATO chief Gottemoeller told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I think frankly, the Russians threw at Kyiv some of their most elite forces to begin with, they were hoping for a lightning strike to basically assassinate President Zelensky, take out the Government in Kyiv and have a quick victory.

‘But it didn’t work out that way and they ended up stalling on the highway outside of Kyiv.

‘Now we’ve seen those forces disperse and disperse into the woods but I’m wondering frankly if they have the ability to regroup at this point because their logistics are in such bad shape, they don’t really have the fuel supplies they need for a push on to Kyiv.

‘So at the moment, I have to tell you that I’m rather sceptical that they will gain much success in an assault on Kyiv, at least with those forces.’