After 55 days of failure to capture territory in Ukraine, Russia is betting all of its chips on this week’s attacks, which Moscow has dubbed the “second phase” of the war and is centered on the east of the occupied territory. This Tuesday (19th) alone, Russian troops quadrupled the number of bombings on Ukrainian territory compared to the previous day, the vast majority of them in the east of the country.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, its troops carried out 1,260 attacks overnight. The number is four times higher than the previous day’s 315 attacks, a quantity that is already much higher than in the previous days.
The Ukrainian government also said it had identified the new phase of the Ukrainian war. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that new offensives have already started in the Donbass region.
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The offensive is seen as crucial to the outcome of the war because it could culminate in both Russia’s capture of areas in eastern Ukraine and a major hole in Moscow’s budget. The Russian government has deployed almost its entire army and weapons of war to the region and could face further sanctions as a result of the new attacks.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday (19) that he predicted a significant development of the new phase. “Another phase of this operation (in eastern Ukraine) is beginning and I am sure that this will be a very important moment of this whole special operation,” he said.
2 of 4 Ukrainian soldiers guard an area in the east of the country Photo: via Reuters
Ukrainian soldiers guard an area in the east of the country Photo: via Reuters
A “very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive,” Zelenskyy said in a video address. “No matter how many Russian troops they send there, we will fight. We will defend ourselves.”
Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak assured the Ukrainians that his troops could contain the offensive. “Believe in our army, it’s very strong,” he said.
What do local guides say?
The Ukrainian governor of the Lugansk region, Sergei Gaidai, also announced the start of the Russian offensive against eastern Ukraine.
“This is hell. The offensive we’ve been talking about for weeks has begun,” Gaidai said on Facebook. “There are fighting in Rubizhne and Popasna, incessant fighting in other peaceful towns,” he added.
At least eight civilians were killed by Russian gunfire and attacks on Monday, according to regional authorities.
Four people died in Kreminna, a small town in the Lugansk region that was taken by the Russians on Monday, Gaidai said on Telegram.
Another four people died in the Donetsk region, according to the Ukrainian governor of that region, Pavlo Kyrylenko.
A plume of smoke is seen over a steel mill as a symbol of the resistance in Mariupol
After the failure in Kyiv, the focus is on Donbass
After the failure of the first attempt to seize the Ukrainian capital, the Russians are now focusing on increasing their influence in the breakaway eastern regions. The aim of the new offensive is to conquer the entire Donetsk and Lugansk regions as well as the southern port city of Mariupol, which has been under siege for weeks. Moscow’s idea is to create a corridor between this region and Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.
3 of 4 A Ukrainian flag flies in front of a Russianbombed building in Mariupol, where soldiers are defying Moscow’s ultimatum — Photo: Alexander Ermochenko/ Reuters
A Ukrainian flag flies in front of a Russian bombhit building in Mariupol, where soldiers are defying Moscow’s ultimatum.
Mariupol is one of the main targets of Russia, which has surrounded the port city in the south of the country since the beginning of the war. However, local residents and soldiers put up strong resistance. This Tuesday (19th) the battle will take place in the Azovstal industrial complex, the last point of resistance in Mariupol.
The Russian government has claimed that Ukrainian soldiers fighting at the scene surrendered, but Ukraine has not confirmed this.
4 of 4 map shows the situation of the Ukraine war — Photo: Arte g1
Map shows the location of the war in Ukraine — Photo: Arte g1