<p>The Russian invasion of Ukraine intends to remove the country's government and install new leadership allied to Moscow, a senior US defense official said Thursday.</p>.<p>The Russian military opened its attack with around 100 ballistic missile launches mainly targeting military infrastructure facilities, as well as sorties by 75 heavy and medium bombers, the official said.</p>.<p>The initial phase is focused on key cities and the Pentagon expects the Russians to move on the capital Kyiv, according to the official, speaking on grounds of anonymity.</p>.<p>"They have every intention of basically decapitating the government and installing their own means of governance," the official said.</p>.<p>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/uk-pm-johnson-vows-to-hobble-russian-economy-in-tv-address-1084796.html" target="_blank"><strong>UK PM Johnson vows to ‘hobble’ Russian economy in TV address</strong></a></p>.<p>The official said that Russian troops had crossed the border on the ground but gave no estimate on numbers.</p>.<p>"We haven't seen a conventional move like this, nation state to nation state, since World War II, certainly nothing on this size and scope and scale," the official said.</p>.<p>So far however, the Russians have not entered western Ukraine, and there have been "no indications" of an amphibious assault in the south from the Black Sea, the official said.</p>.<p>There were no estimates of the damages to Ukraine's military.</p>.<p>"We have seen indications that they are resisting and fighting back," the official said.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p>The Russian invasion of Ukraine intends to remove the country's government and install new leadership allied to Moscow, a senior US defense official said Thursday.</p>.<p>The Russian military opened its attack with around 100 ballistic missile launches mainly targeting military infrastructure facilities, as well as sorties by 75 heavy and medium bombers, the official said.</p>.<p>The initial phase is focused on key cities and the Pentagon expects the Russians to move on the capital Kyiv, according to the official, speaking on grounds of anonymity.</p>.<p>"They have every intention of basically decapitating the government and installing their own means of governance," the official said.</p>.<p>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/uk-pm-johnson-vows-to-hobble-russian-economy-in-tv-address-1084796.html" target="_blank"><strong>UK PM Johnson vows to ‘hobble’ Russian economy in TV address</strong></a></p>.<p>The official said that Russian troops had crossed the border on the ground but gave no estimate on numbers.</p>.<p>"We haven't seen a conventional move like this, nation state to nation state, since World War II, certainly nothing on this size and scope and scale," the official said.</p>.<p>So far however, the Russians have not entered western Ukraine, and there have been "no indications" of an amphibious assault in the south from the Black Sea, the official said.</p>.<p>There were no estimates of the damages to Ukraine's military.</p>.<p>"We have seen indications that they are resisting and fighting back," the official said.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>