Russia unleashes offensive into east Ukraine: Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Russia launched a major offensive into eastern Ukraine on Monday, authorities in Kyiv said, as Moscow opened a new phase of its invasion after being thwarted in efforts to capture the capital.

In recent weeks, Russia s military campaign has refocused on the eastern region of Donbas, which pro-Moscow separatists have partly controlled since 2014.

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"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.

Control of Donbas would allow Moscow to create a southern corridor to the occupied Crimean peninsula.

In the south of Donbas, Russia continued its push to capture the besieged port city of Mariupol, where the last remaining Ukrainian forces have taken a final stand.

Russia on Monday also pounded targets across the country, killing at least seven people in the far western city of Lviv.

Lviv has largely been spared bombardment since Russia invaded on February 24, and the city and its surroundings had become a haven for those seeking safety from the war zone.

But "today we understood clearly that we don t have any safe places in Ukraine. It s very dangerous," a bank employee who gave her name as Natalia told AFP after the strikes.

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