The president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, informed his country that Russia “has begun the great battle for Donbas”, alluding to to the expected major offensive by the Russian army to control the entire east of the country, and assured that the Ukrainian forces will defend the territory of the country from the invasion launched by Moscow.
“We can confirm that the Russian troops have started that battle, for which they have been preparing for a long time. A large part of the entire Russian army is now engaged in this offensive ”, he assured, in a message broadcast by video, to add later that the Ukrainian soldiers “will fight” and that they “will not give up” any of the country’s territory.
Russian forces began the battle for Donbas, says Zelensky https://t.co/w3DprAzJHw pic.twitter.com/CgTu6X0YvF
— CNN in Spanish (@CNNEE) April 24, 2022
“I do not It does not matter how many Russian troops are deployed: we will fight”, added the Ukrainian leader, whose report follows the bombings recorded throughout this Monday in Donbas and after the regional governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Gaidai, proclaimed the start of the offensive in one of his cities, Kreminna, early in the morning.
Massive bombardment
“The situation has radically changed”, Gaidai then announced, via Telegram, to report after the first street fighting. “This is hell. The offensive that we have been talking about for weeks has begun . There are fighting in Rubizhne and Popasna, incessant fighting in other peaceful locations”, he stated.
In parallel to the alarm in the east of the country, from Lviv, in the west already 80 kilometers from the border with Poland, five missile attacks were also reported in the morning, leaving at least seven dead. Especially dramatic is the situation in Mariupol, the strategic port city on the Black Sea, which has suffered daily from Russian bombing since the beginning of the invasion, on 02 February. Local authorities say that a thousand civilians are taking refuge in a steel mill along with the soldiers who are resisting the invasion.
Since Russia announced the withdrawal of its troops from the kyiv region, it has concentrated its armed forces in eastern Ukraine, subject to frequent bombardment since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.
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