Russian army headed to Kyiv in 40-mile convoy can freeze to death. Here’s why

Temperatures in Ukraine are set to drop in the coming days, so much so, that the soldiers in these tanks might freeze to death, Glen Grant, a senior defence expert at the Baltic Security Foundation, told Newsweek. He further emphasised that these tanks might turn into ‘refrigerators’ for the Russian army if the engine of the vehicle is not turned on.

“The boys won’t wait, they will get out, start walking to the forest, and give themselves up to avoid freezing to death,” Grant was reported saying.

The Russian tanks are headed towards Ukraine’s most populated and capital city Kyiv. The issue of freezing temperatures had been raised and resultant, the tanks have slowed down. According to The Independent, the Russian convoy is currently 19 miles from the city centre. The convoy has been stuck due to mechanical problems and fuel supply issues, as reported by multiple publications.

Eastern Europe will soon be under the grip of a cold snap around the middle of the week, during which the temperature is expected to drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius. Kyiv and other areas are already experiencing minus 10 degrees Celsius.

As the severe plunge in temperatures approaches the war torn country, the refugees fleeing the besieged cities are also in for trouble. According to United Nations, the number of refugees have crossed two million, in one of Europe’s largest refugee crisis after World War II.

Two weeks ago Russian President Vladimir Putin had launched a military offensive against the Eastern European country Ukraine to disarm its neighbour and dislodge leaders it calls “neo-Nazis.”

This premise have however, drawn criticism globally. Kyiv and their allies have dismissed this as a premie to bomb a peaceful country with 44 million civilians.

Former British Army Major Kevin Price told The Daily Mail that Russians’ tanks will become nothing more than “40-ton freezers” as the mercury drops. He added that bitter conditions will destroy the morale of troops not prepared for Arctic-style warfare.

The war has swiftly cast Russia as an economic ‘Pariah’ as Rouble’s value keeps plunging. Western companies, like McDonald’s, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and others have swiftly withdrawn from the Russian market, as US, UK announce a slew of sanctions on Moscow. 

US, UK also announced a ban on import of Russian oil on Tuesday. This came as a major policy change after energy was previously exempted from sanctions.