According to Ukrainian sources, Russia has started its major offensive in eastern Ukraine. There were apparently several explosions along the front line. “The battle for the Donbass” has begun, according to President Zelenskyy.
The Russian army has apparently launched its long-awaited major offensive in eastern Ukraine. Secretary of Ukraine’s Security Council Alexei Danilov said on TV that Russian forces tried to break through Ukraine’s defenses almost along the entire front line in the eastern regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv.
The Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak spoke of a new phase in the war. “The second phase of the war has begun,” he wrote on Telegram. “Believe in our army, it is very strong.”
Explosions along the front line
According to Ukrainian media, there were apparently several explosions, some of them violent, along the front line in the eastern region of Donetsk. The cities of Marinka, Slavjansk and Kramatorsk came under fire. There were also explosions in Kharkiv in the north-east of the country and in Zaporizhia in the south-east.
Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine is also said to be under fire. “Several explosions occurred in Mykolaiv. We are investigating the situation,” Mayor Olexander Senkevych said.
Zelenskyy: “Battle for the Donbass” has begun
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video speech that Russian troops had started the expected major offensive in the east of the country. “We can now say that the Russian troops have started the battle for Donbass, for which they have been preparing for so long,” said Zelenskyy.
A large part of the entire Russian army was therefore involved in this offensive. “No matter how many Russian troops are brought there, we will fight. We will defend ourselves. We will do this every day.”
Russian troops capture Kreminna
According to Ukrainian information, Russian units attacked on a broad front more than 480 kilometers long. Secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov said: “The occupiers are trying to break through our defences. Luckily our military is holding up. They only passed through two cities: Kreminna and another small town.”
Military Administrator of the Luhansk region Serhiy Haudau said Kreminna came under heavy artillery fire. The Russians took the city after they “leveled everything,” he said on Ukrainian television. He said on Facebook: “It’s hell. The offensive we’ve been talking about for weeks has begun.” There is fighting in Rubishne and Popasna and “incessant fighting” in other hitherto peaceful cities.
Dead and injured in Kreminna and Kharkiv
Four civilians were killed by Russian soldiers trying to escape from Kreminna. Four other civilians were killed around 20 kilometers east of Kreminna in the Donetsk region, the local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram.
According to Ukrainian sources, three people were killed and 15 injured, including a 14-year-old child, when the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv was shelled. “The grenades fell right in front of houses, on children’s playgrounds and near humanitarian aid centers,” said the governor of the region, Oleh Synyehubov. He accused the Russian army of attacking civilians.
Pentagon: Russia strengthens military in east and south
According to information from the US Department of Defense, Russia is significantly increasing its troops in eastern and southern Ukraine. In the past few days, more than ten so-called tactical combat units have been transferred there, said Defense Department spokesman John Kirby. The Russian military is also flying more airstrikes in the Donbass and on the port city of Mariupol.
The capture of more parts of the Donbass would allow Russia to establish a southern corridor to the Crimean Peninsula annexed in 2014. In Mariupol, Russian troops have started shelling the last major bastion of the city’s defending units with bunker-busting weapons, according to Ukrainian sources.
The commander of the ultra-nationalist Azov regiment of the National Guard, Denys Prokopenko, said in a video message that the Russians used the heavy weapons, even though they knew that many civilians had also sought shelter in the extensive compound of the Azov steelworks.
More than 100,000 residents are said to be holding out in the largely destroyed city. They cannot currently leave the city via escape corridors. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Russia’s refusal to open safe escape routes could justify war crimes trials. Russia, on the other hand, said that “neo-Nazi nationalists” on the Ukrainian side were making evacuations more difficult.
Klitschko: Kyiv still threatened by attacks
According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, the Ukrainian capital Kyiv is still threatened by Russian attacks. “Kyiv was and remains a target of the aggressor,” Klitschko said via telegram. He strongly advises the residents of the metropolis who have fled to stay in a safer place.
“Based on the military data and the latest developments, we cannot rule out that Kyiv is still threatened by rocket attacks,” said Klitschko. Rockets were recently fired at some districts. “Therefore, we cannot guarantee safety in the city.” There are still many checkpoints in Kyiv and also a night curfew.
Attacks were also reported from western Ukraine. At least seven people were killed in rocket attacks on Lviv, where many refugees are staying, according to Ukrainian sources. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian army destroyed a large weapons depot near Lviv, in which weapons delivered from the West were said to have been stored.
First US weapons from new aid package delivered
Meanwhile, the first shipments of arms from the new US military aid package to Ukraine began arriving at the country’s borders. A senior US Department of Defense official, who declined to be named, said four planes had delivered military equipment to Ukraine. A fifth flight will follow shortly.
The White House earlier announced new military aid worth $800 million (about €737 million) to help Ukraine’s armed forces fight invading Russian forces. According to the AFP news agency, the new aid package includes 18 155-millimeter howitzers, 200 M113 armored personnel carriers, eleven Mi-17 helicopters, 100 other armored vehicles and artillery ammunition. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said US soldiers stationed on NATO’s eastern flank should begin training Ukrainian military on 155mm howitzers “within the next few days”.
