Zelensky says Russia has started large scale offensive to take control of eastern Ukraine
‘The battle for Donbas has begun’: Zelensky says Russia has started large scale offensive to take control of eastern Ukraine as he vows ‘we will fight, we will defend ourselves’
Zelensky announced Russia has launched a major offensive in the east of Ukraine‘We can confirm Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas,’ he saidRussia withdrew its troops from areas around Kyiv at the start of the monthThey are redeploying to the east of Ukraine to launch all out war in the Donbas The war in Ukraine has now entered a new phase as Russia doubles down on efforts to seize the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday said Russia’s large-scale offensive in the eastern Donbas region had begun.
After weeks of having their assaults on Kyiv thwarted at every turn, Putin‘s commanders are now refocusing their efforts on the Donbas region that pro-Moscow separatists have partly controlled since 2014.
Russia withdrew many of its troops from the region around the Ukrainian capital at the start of the month, and in recent weeks fighting has intensified as the bulk of Russian troops redeployed to a swathe of territory to the south-east of Kharkiv.
‘We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, which they have been preparing for a long time. A large part of the Russian army is now dedicated to this offensive,’ Zelensky said on Telegram.
‘No matter how many Russian soldiers are brought here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves.
‘I am grateful to all our fighters, to all our heroic cities in Donbass, Mariupol, as well as to the cities in the region of Kharkiv that are being held.’
The offensive in the Donbas marks a new phase of the war which will see Russia double down on its efforts to seize the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk after attempts to seize cities across Ukraine were repelled.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday said Russia’s large-scale offensive in the eastern Donbas region had begun
After weeks of having their assaults on Kyiv thwarted at every turn, Putin’s commanders are now refocusing their efforts on the Donbas region that pro-Moscow separatists have partly controlled since 2014
The Ukrainian flag flutters between buildings destroyed in bombardment, in the Ukrainian town of Borodianka, in the Kyiv region on April 17, 2022
A man walks near a residential building destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 17, 2022
Shortly before Zelensky’s address, the regional governor of the eastern Lugansk region Sergiy Gaiday also announced the beginning of Russia’s much-anticipated attack.
‘It’s hell. The offensive has begun, the one we’ve been talking about for weeks. There’s constant fighting in Rubizhne and Popasna, fighting in other peaceful cities,’ he said on Facebook.
Russian shelling killed at least eight civilians in eastern Ukraine on Monday, according to local authorities.
Gaiday said four people died as they tried to flee the city of Kreminna in Lugansk, which Russian forces captured on Monday.
In the neighbouring region of Donetsk, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said four other civilians died after Russian bombardment.
A large Russian offensive in the Donbas region had been predicted by Ukraine’s army for weeks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he launched the military operation to save the region’s Russian-speaking population from a ‘genocide’ carried out by a ‘neo-Nazi’ Kyiv regime.
Putin recognised the independence of two self-proclaimed separatist republics in Donetsk and Lugansk shortly before the full-scale Russian invasion began on February 24.
A large Russian offensive in the Donbas region had been predicted by Ukraine’s army for weeks (Service members of pro-Russian troops drive an armoured vehicle during Ukraine-Russia conflict near the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 17, 2022)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he launched the military operation to save the region’s Russian-speaking population from a ‘genocide’ carried out by a ‘neo-Nazi’ Kyiv regime
Colonel Ivan Grishin, Commander of the 49th anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Russian Army’s tactical air defence unit, is reported to have been killed in Ukraine
His army’s assault on the Donbas regions comes as Ukraine’s armed forces declared more than 20,000 Russian troops have died since the start of the invasion.
According to the latest figures, a total of 20,600 Russian servicemen have been confirmed dead by the Ukrainian authorities, while even the most conservative Western estimates, given at the start of the month, put the Russian death toll between 7,000-15,000.
As the war entered its 54th day, Ukrainian authorities also announced that Colonel Ivan Grishin, commander of Russia’s 49th anti-aircraft missile brigade, was killed amid fighting near Kharkiv.
His death pushed the number of Russia’s high-ranking military commanders to have died on the frontlines to 35.
Meanwhile, the United States military is set to begin training Ukrainians to operate howitzer artillery in the coming days, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Monday.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed that the U.S. will begin training Ukrainian troops in how to use howitzer artillery in the coming days
The U.S. is sending 18 howitzers to Ukraine in its latest aid package. British troops are seen here using 55mm self-propelled howitzers in Saudi Arabia in 1991
President Joe Biden last week announced another $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, sending heavy artillery systems to Ukraine for the first time as Zelensky’s military gears up to defend the Donbas.
Kirby said the training would happen outside of Ukraine.
‘I’m going to refrain right now from talking about who’s going to be doing the training and exactly on what timeline,’ he told reporters during a briefing.
‘I think as we get closer to things, we may be able to talk a little bit more about it.
‘But there is a plan now that we are beginning to execute and we think that that training can happen in the next several days.’
He said the plan was to train personnel who would then be able to take their knowledge home to then train soldiers in Ukraine.
