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Zelensky: Russia Has ‘Begun the Battle for the Donbas’

The Ukrainian president said a “significant part of the entire Russian army” is focused on the offensive.

The Russian military has launched a push to capture eastern Ukraine, setting the stage for fresh bloodshed in the 2-month-old war. “The Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video statement on Monday, noting that a “significant part of the entire Russian army is now concentrated on this offensive,” the Associated Press reported. Russia has had its sights on seizing control of the Donbas region for the past eight years, and the Kremlin has said taking the area is the primary goal of its unprovoked invasion. “This morning, almost along the whole front line of the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions, the occupiers attempted to break through our defenses,” said Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security council. “Fortunately, our military is holding out. They passed through only two cities… We are not giving up any of our territories.”