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New ‘Phase’ of Ukraine War as Russia Attacks East - The Moscow Times
Moscow launched dozens of air strikes across eastern Ukraine overnight, its Defense Ministry said Tuesday, with Russia's top diplomat acknowledging "another phase" of the conflict was beginning as fighting raged in the Donbas region.
www.themoscowtimes.com
4.19.22
Russia has launched a major offensive into eastern Ukraine, authorities in Kyiv said, opening a new phase of its invasion after being thwarted in efforts to capture the capital. The United States is due to hold a video meeting with allies Tuesday to discuss the conflict in Ukraine, where Moscow's military campaign has refocused on the eastern region of Donbas, partly controlled by pro-Kremlin separatists since 2014. "We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, which they have been preparing for a long time," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram late Monday. "No matter how many Russian soldiers are brought here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves." Ahead of the widely anticipated advance, Ukrainian authorities had urged people in Donbas to flee west to escape. "The second phase of the war has started," Kyiv's presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said.
Shortly before Zelensky's address, the regional governor of the 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, according to local authorities. Gaiday said four people died as they tried to flee the city of Kreminna in Lugansk as Russian troops moved in. "The Russian army has already entered there, with a huge amount of military hardware... Our defenders have retreated to new positions," Gaiday said in a statement on social media. But Ukrainian presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovich said Russian forces had not conquered the city. Nearby, in the village of Novodruzhesk, weary locals have borne the brunt of the fighting. "We are bombed everywhere. It's a miracle that we're still alive," said Nadya, 65, her voice trembling.
The Russians should be greeted with a wall of Javelin's, Stinger's, and NLAW missiles.