Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Monday the start of the Russian offensive against eastern Ukraine, part of which is in the hands of pro-Russian separatists and where deadly fighting has intensified.
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“Now we can say that Russian troops have started the battle for Donbass, for which they have been preparing for a long time. A very large part of the entire Russian army is now devoted to this offensive,” he said in a speech broadcast on Telegram.
“No matter how many Russian soldiers are brought here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves,” he said.
Shortly before, the Ukrainian governor of the Lugansk region, Serguiï Gaïdaï, had also announced the start of the offensive by Russian troops against eastern Ukraine.
“It’s hell. The offensive has begun, the one we’ve been talking about for weeks,” he said on Facebook. “There is fighting in Rubizhne and Popasna, incessant fighting in other peaceful towns.”
At least eight civilians were killed Monday by Russian fire and strikes, according to regional authorities.
Four people died in Kreminna, a small town in the Lugansk region that fell to the Russians on Monday, Gaïdaï said on Telegram.
And four others in the neighboring region of Donetsk, according to the Ukrainian governor of this region, Pavlo Kyrylenko. “Two in Torske, one in Chandrigalove and one in Razdolne. Five other people were injured,” he said on Telegram.
Since the announcement of the withdrawal of its troops from the Kyiv region, Russia has concentrated its armed forces in eastern Ukraine, the target of frequent bombardments since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.
A massive Moscow offensive against Donbass had been announced by the Ukrainian army for several weeks. A large swathe of Donbass is under the control of pro-Russian separatists from the self-proclaimed republics of Lugansk and Donetsk.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claims to be carrying out a military operation in Ukraine to save the Russians of Donbass from a “genocide” orchestrated by Ukrainian “neo-Nazis”.