Why a huge Russian convoy remains stalled north of Kyiv

, Russia’s enigmatic chief of general staff, once co-authored a short manual for his commanders, called “The principles of victory in combat”. Russian officers had become too predictable, he thought. Surprise is achieved by “striking the enemy at a time or place or in a manner for which the enemy is unprepared.” Yet it is hard to think of a less dynamic attack than the one approaching Kyiv from the north-west. A Russian military convoy, no less than 60km long, has been moving at snail’s pace towards the capital. It epitomises Russia’s plodding approach to the war so far.