Russia claims its slow progress attacking Ukraine is to help people evacuate, not because it can't win

• Russia's defense minister claimed his army was deliberately slowing its progress to aid civilian evacuations.
• That's despite widespread intelligence showing Russia is hampered by logistical issues.

Russia's defense minister said that his country's slow progress in the past few days of its invasion of Ukraine were deliberate and designed to help people evacuate, despite widespread evidence that Russia is struggling in its efforts.

Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday: "For residents to leave the surrounded settlements, silence regimes are announced and humanitarian corridors are created. Of course, this slows down the pace of the offensive, but this is done deliberately in order to avoid civilian casualties," Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported.

He also repeated Russia's claims that its army does not target civilian infrastructure, despite widespread evidence that it has been doing so across Ukraine since the early days of its invasion.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has stalled and slowed in the face of strong resistance from Ukraine. Western intelligence said Russia expected to capture the country in a few days. Instead, three months on, Russia has ceded many areas back to Ukraine.

What started as an assault on much of Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, has turned into a battle focused in the east, near Russia's border.

Western officials have also noted that Russia has not been making quick progress in the region as it faces logistical issues.

Russia has also interrupted the evacuations of civilians during its invasion.

Ukraine has repeatedly paused plans to evacuate people through humanitarian corridors, saying that Russia fired on them.