Russian forces launched an attack on eastern Ukraine on Monday, trying to break through Ukrainian lines in the Donbass region, the secretary of Ukraine’s Defense Council said.
“This morning the occupiers tried to break through our defenses along almost the entire front line of the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions,” said Oleksiy Danilov in TV commentaries.
“They started trying to start the active phase this morning,” he added.
The Pentagon did not deny Ukrainian reports on Monday, but described the attacks as so-called “shaping operations” in preparation for a larger, future attack.
“We still view what we’re seeing as part of the design of operations, that the Russians continue to create the conditions for what they believe will ultimately succeed on the ground,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
“We believe that the Russians shape and set the conditions for future offensive operations. We also see that there are active struggles in the Donbas – like in the last few weeks,” he added.
Russian forces began their anticipated attack on eastern Ukraine, attempting to break through Ukrainian lines in the Donbass region. AFP via Getty Images
The Donbass, which consists mainly of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts on Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia, has been the scene of sporadic fighting since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and Moscow’s simultaneous support of separatist movements in the Donbass.
After Russian forces failed to capture Kyiv last month, the Kremlin announced it would refocus its efforts on capturing Donbass while continuing to shell all of Ukraine.
Monday’s reports of fighting in the region come after days of Russian troops massing near Izyum, a town in Kharkiv Oblast, just outside the Donbass.
The attack also comes just hours after a massive Russian bombing campaign hit targets across Ukraine, including as far away as Lviv near the Polish border. Russian authorities reported hitting military targets in Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Dnipro and Mykolayiv and in Donetsk in the heart of the Donbass.
Donbass has been the scene of sporadic fighting since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. REUTERS
Meanwhile, the Pentagon estimates that Russia has bolstered its troops in southern and eastern Ukraine by recruiting tens of thousands of troops into at least 10 new tactical battalion groups in the region.
Mariupol, a strategic port city in southern Donbass, has continued to hold off a Russian attack even though its defenders are dwindling. Ukrainian control of the city is the main obstacle for Russian forces in Crimea to invade Donbass.
Experts have predicted that after the capture of Mariupol, a full-scale Russian attack on the Donbass would take place.
With mail wires