After 2 weeks a person with knowledge of warfare strategy and tactics could begin grasping from the shaping of the battlefield what was happening, including that actions around Kiev were deception, not capturing a city. 40000 troops heavily outnumbered, a city housing 3.5 million, destroyed buildings favour opponent, no short term benefit if enemy can be held there. Battles were very real and costly, had to be to enhance deception that kyiv was main goal,. But were just bigger version of actions elsewhere, advance and retreat to keep enemy in place. 'Stalled' convoy, 20k strong police unit, also part of very convincing diversion. Some choose to not see objective is to deal with force built up in east to invade pro Russian territory, that war is won by defeating opposing force not by taking cities, that they know nothing compared to Russian generals.
