Russia has launched large-scale military action to occupy eastern Ukraine, said President Vladimir Zelensky.
“We can already see that the Russian troops have started the battle for Donbass, for which they have been preparing for a long time,” he said in a video message. Zelensky said “a significant part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive.”
He added: “No matter how many soldiers are driven there, we will defend ourselves. we will fight. We will not give up anything Ukrainian. “
The president’s comments follow a dramatic escalation of Russia’s attacks ahead of the long-awaited operation. Vladimir Putin has announced his intention to take over Donbass, the industrial heart in the eastern part of the country, already partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
Zelensky made it clear that the Ukrainian army will fight any attempt to attack Moscow. “No matter how many Russian troops are expelled there, we will fight,” he said. “We will defend ourselves. We will do it every day. “
Earlier Monday, Russia unleashed long-range missiles across Ukraine, which analysts described as a “softening” exercise before its military boost.
The shelling in the eastern part of Ukraine in Donetsk also killed four people, said regional governor Pavlo Kirilenko.
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Ukrainian government officials have warned that Russian military planes are preparing to drop five-ton bombs on the Azovstal plant in the besieged city of Mariupol. Ukrainian soldiers have been detained in tunnels under the factory for seven weeks.
The underground complex is also used as a refuge by hundreds of civilians, including children. They were on the verge of destruction, officials said.
Earlier on Monday, four Russian missiles crashed in the western city of Lviv, killing seven and injuring at least 11. Three hit military infrastructure. But the fourth seems to have missed his goal and ended up in a car repair shop.
The city, which is close to the Polish border, has become a refuge for civilians fleeing fighting elsewhere. To the Kremlin’s growing anger, Lviv has also become a major gateway to NATO-supplied weapons.
Zelenski also submitted a completed questionnaire as the first step towards EU membership – a desire that has been a source of tension with Moscow for years.
Russia’s defense ministry said in a statement that the missiles had destroyed Ukrainian ammunition depots and other military targets.
It says it has hit areas across the country, including the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhia, as well as the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk districts and the southern port of Nikolaev.
A powerful explosion reportedly shook Vasilkov, a city south of Kyiv where a military air base is located, according to residents. There were also new deadly shellings in Kharkiv. In the last four days, 18 people died and 106 were injured.
A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon’s assessments of the war, said there are now 76 Russian combat units in eastern and southern Ukraine, known as battalion tactical groups, up from 65 last week.
That could lead to about 50,000 to 60,000 troops, based on what the Pentagon said at the start of the war was the typical unit strength of 700 to 800 troops, but the numbers are difficult to determine at this stage of the battle.
The official also said four US cargo flights arrived in Europe on Sunday with initial deliveries of weapons and other materials to Ukraine as part of a $ 800 million (£ 615 million) package announced by Washington last week. And the training of Ukrainian personnel on American 155-millimeter howitzers should begin in the next few days.
The capture of Mariupol, which Ukraine says killed 21,000 people, is considered crucial, and not just because it will deprive Ukraine of a vital port and complete the land bridge between Russia and the Crimean peninsula occupied by Moscow eight years ago.
The US defense official said that if Russian forces managed to take full control of Mariupol, it could free nearly a dozen battalion tactical groups to use elsewhere in the Donbas.
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