Volodymyr Zelenskiy says ‘battle for Donbas’ has begun as Russia mounts anticipated offensive in the eastern part of Ukraine
Russia’s expected offensive in the eastern part of Ukraine has begun. Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a “significant part” of the Russian army was now focused on taking control of eastern Ukraine. “Now we can already state that the Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time,” he said in a video address.
Zelenskiy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak called it “the second phase of the war” and assured Ukrainians that their forces could hold off the offensive. “Believe in our army, it is very strong,” Yermak said.
There are now 76 Russian battalion tactical groups in the Donbas region of Ukraine and in the country’s southeast, a senior US defence department official said. Eleven of those groups were added over the last several days.
The first shipments of a new US military aid package have arrived at Ukraine’s borders, a senior Pentagon official said. Last week, the United States unveiled a $800-million tranche of equipment for Ukraine, including helicopters, howitzers and armoured personnel carriers.
Seven people were killed in strikes in the western city of Lviv. Maksym Kozytskyy, the governor of Lviv, said preliminary reports suggested there were four strikes there, three on warehouses that were not in use by the military and another on a car service station. “It was a barbaric strike at a service station, it’s a completely civilian facility,” he told a news conference.
The southern port city of Mariupol has not fallen to Russian forces, US officials said. “Our assessment is Mariupol is still contested,” the Pentagon official said. If Russian forces succeed in taking full control of Mariupol, that could free up nearly a dozen battalion tactical groups for use elsewhere in the Donbas.
About 1,000 civilians are reportedly hiding in underground shelters beneath the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, according to the city council. Most of the civilians are believed to be women with children and elderly people.
Shelling in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region killed four people, regional governor, Pavlo Kirilenko, said.
US president Joe Biden will on Tuesday hold a call with allies to discuss the Ukraine crisis, including on how to coordinate on holding Russia accountable, the White House said.
Despite urging from Zelenskiy, Biden has made no plans to visit Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, adding that details would not be provided if that decision changed, for security reasons.
Family members of sailors who served onboard the Russian warship Moskva are demanding answers as the ministry has sought to suppress information about what happened to the ship or its estimated 510-strong crew.
The total number of dead, wounded and missing remains a state secret. A number of families have gone public saying they cannot find their sons who were serving onboard.
Two British fighters captured in Ukraine by Russian forces have been paraded on Russian state TV asking Boris Johnson to help free them, in a dramatic escalation of the propaganda war. Footage showed Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin calling on the British prime minister to help free them in exchange for Ukraine releasing the pro-Kremlin politician Viktor Medvedchuk.
Ukraine is hoping to receive candidate country status to join the European Union within weeks, Zelenskiy said. The European Union’s ambassador in Ukraine, Matti Maasikas, said he received a completed questionnaire from Zelenskiy just 10 days after the document was provided to Kyiv. “Extraordinary times take extraordinary steps and extraordinary speed,” he tweeted.