Russia Declares Start of New Offensive in Eastern Ukraine

Russia declared on Tuesday that it had launched its new offensive for control of eastern Ukraine with the bombardment of targets across the Donbas region, but Ukraine said it was defending the territory and repulsing some of the initial attacks.

“Another phase of this operation is starting now,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, adding that Moscow’s goal was the “complete liberation” of the Donetsk and Luhansk territories in the east.

In Washington, a senior Defense Department official called the new Russian military operations a “prelude” for bigger ones to come, saying, “There’s a real possibility that this could go on for a while because both sides can be fairly dug in here, and be dug in fairly well.”

The official said Ukraine is outmanned numerically compared with the Russian forces, but “that doesn’t mean that they don’t have advantages of their own or the ability to actively defend themselves,” with weapons being “replenished every single day.”

Some segments of the $800 million U.S. tranche of military aid U.S. President Joe Biden approved last week have already arrived in Ukraine. The defense official said another half dozen or more flights with more armaments are landing in Ukraine in the next 24 hours.

Luhansk’s governor said that the eastern city of Kreminna is now “under the control” of Russian forces, which could allow Russia to advance on Kramatorsk, capital of the Donbas region.

VOA