Russia escalates its attacks on eastern Ukraine. James Longman reported that Russian troops had stepped up their offensive in the Donbass region.
Russia has publicly announced that it has begun to intensify its military operations in eastern Ukraine
Russia has concentrated its firepower on key areas of control of Ukraine's industrial heartland. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin, more than 7 weeks after the war in Ukraine had begun, had entered a new phase of invasion and would seek "complete liberation" of Ukraine.
Russia announced that a new phase of its "special operations" was underway. The Pentagon said russian troops, made up of thousands of people, had been sent to eastern Ukraine.
Russian forces approached the outskirts of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, days after invading Ukraine on February 24, but the offensive was soon halted by stubborn resistance. Russian troops suffered heavy losses in personnel and equipment, and the failure of the Kiev offensive greatly boosted the morale of the Ukrainian army, giving its leaders broad international support and more weapons assistance from the West. Thus, at the same time, the cost of war in Moscow was also increased.
On Monday, Russia took control of eastern Ukraine through an all-out offensive that marked the beginning of a new phase in the nearly two-month war that people have long feared. Ukrainian officials say Russian troops are attacking nearly 300 miles on the front line in the disputed Donbass region, the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial heartland in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian soldiers since 2014. Moreover, Moscow declared its recognition of the existence of two independent republics.
The Donbass region is in crisis
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy announced on an evening radio on Tuesday: "Russian troops have already started an attack on Donbass and have been preparing for this for quite some time." "After retreating from Kiev, Chernihiv, Sumy and other regions in northeastern Ukraine, the Russian army retreated to the territory of Moscow's ally Belarus and the western part of Russia to rearm and resupply the new offensive." Now, a large part of the entire Russian army is concentrated on this offensive. ”
On Tuesday, the bombing appeared to have increased dramatically, with Russia saying it had attacked more than 60 Ukrainian military installations with warplanes and 1,260 with artillery in the past 24 hours, while 1,214 troop concentrations had been attacked.
After a Russian factory in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine was bombed, security forces rescued an injured man.
Western governments continue to impose sanctions on Russia and provide military assistance to Ukraine
Justin Crump, a former British tank commander and head of defence consultancy Sibylline Ltd., said Russia had overhauled its bombing campaign and was gradually taking over large swaths of territory, mainly focusing on destroying Ukraine's most capable forces in Donbass. Klemps told The Associated Press that "they want to be able to destroy the ukrainian forces with the largest and most elite pre-war regular army."
U.S. officials said President Biden held a video conference tuesday with key partners such as France, Japan, Germany, NATO and the European Union to discuss providing additional ammunition and other military assistance to Ukraine to isolate Russia's leadership and Russian economy.
A British government spokesman said the two leaders agreed on the need to tighten sanctions against Russia and seek "long-term security solutions that will free Ukraine from attacks in this way".
People wait for food and medicine in Kramatorsk on April 19.
The situation in Mariupol, an important port city in Ukraine, is grim, and Uzbekistan will stubbornly resist
Russian troops continue to attack Donbass with artillery and air strikes, while the situation in Mariupol remains dire, and the important port city is on the verge of being completely controlled by Russia. The occupation of Mariupol will help link Russian territory to Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday issued a deadline for Ukrainian troops stationed there to lay down their arms and withdraw as soon as possible, but local troops did not comply. The commander of the Ukrainian army in Mariupol told reporters that his troops could continue to "conduct combat operations and complete their military tasks", while saying: "We will not lay down our weapons". He said Ukrainians are skeptical of Russia's commitment to safe passage.
A European official said Mariupol remained Moscow's main target and said the city could fall completely in the coming days. "We do expect the city of Mariupol to be completely destroyed, including numerous civilian casualties," the official, who asked not to be named, frankly assessed the battlefield and told reporters of his thoughts.
After Russia bombed a factory in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, security forces rescued an injured man
There are more planes in Ukraine than two weeks ago: the Pentagon
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that Ukraine currently has more operational military aircraft than it did two weeks ago. He told reporters at the latest briefing that Ukraine had received more aircraft, as well as parts to repair damaged aircraft. So far, Russia's offensive has been "limited" and the fall of Mariupol is "not inevitable" (55th day of the Pentagon update). Kirby would not provide any details about the parts and where the plane came from, but stressed that they did not come from the United States. "We certainly helped transfer some extra spare parts that helped meet their aircraft needs, but we didn't transport the entire aircraft," he said.