Ukraine: Battle for Donbass has begun
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“We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbass, which they have been preparing for a long time,” Zelensky says.
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Russian forces are targeting “along almost the entire front line,” claims Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his advisers stated Monday that the second phase of “Russia's offensive” has begun.
The Kiev government claimed there had been reports of heavy fighting on the fronts of Donetsk, Lugansk, and Kharkov, and that Ukrainian troops were holding the line.
In a video posted on Telegram, Zelensky said: “We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbass, which they have been preparing for a long time.”
“A large part of the Russian army is now dedicated to this offensive,” he added.
On his account, Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, said earlier that the “second phase of the war” is underway in the east, urging Ukrainians to “believe in our army, it is very strong.”
Russian forces are targeting “along almost the entire front line,” said Alexey Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. “Fortunately, our military is holding on.”
On its account, the Russian Defense Ministry made no comment on any ground operations. Meanwhile, frontline correspondents reported heavy fighting south of Izyum, north of Severodonetsk, and west of Donetsk city.
Artillery and missile strikes were also reported in the Kharkov, Nikolaev, and northwestern Donetsk regions.
Russia had launched a special military operation for several reasons, such as NATO's eastward expansion, the Ukrainian shelling of Donbass, and the aggression of Ukrainian forces against the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic, which has been ongoing since 2014.
In response, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and several other countries announced batches of sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities.
