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Russian soldiers have been trying to make their way into the Ukrainian capital Kyiv for days, but have found themselves stuck en route as part of a long convoy of armoured tanks and vehicles.

As the troops run low on fuel and morale, the risk of freezing to death while waiting it out in the cold to seize the city is a real possibility, National Interest reported.

So much so some armoured vehicles have been observed to have been abandoned as its Russian occupants might not have enough fuel to even keep the machines running just to keep warm.

Even without extreme weather, Ukraine is cold this time of the year.

Cold snap

But to make matters worse in the days ahead, conditions are set to become more unbearable as a cold snap sweeps across eastern Europe.

Ukraine is expected to be hit by the extreme cold with temperatures dropping to -10°C with snowfall.

Temperatures could dip further to -20°C, as a result of winds combining with arctic air.

Metal fridges

The long Russian convoy is stuck about 25km from the city centre and remaining stationary has its problems.

Glen Grant, a senior defence expert at the Baltic Security Foundation, told Newsweek the tanks will turn into refrigerators if the engines are not running.

“A metal tank is just a fridge at night if you are not running the engine,” Grant said.

Surrendering an option

He said Russian soldiers might just get out of their vehicles and start walking and surrendering if conditions become unbearably cold with the risk of freezing to death.

And being immobile while freezing cold makes one a target.

Grant added: “You just can’t sit around and wait because if you are in the vehicle you are waiting to be killed. They are not stupid.”

The existing reasons for no significant movement towards Kyiv could be due to mechanical problems, fuel supply issues and mounting Ukrainian resistance.

Top photo via Getty

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