Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian troops had begun the “battle of Donbass”.
“A very large Russian force is now focused on this offensive. No matter how many troops Russia sends there, we will fight. We will defend ourselves,” Zelensky said in a speech. video.
Ukrainian media reported on a series of explosions in the Donbass region, as well as in the southern provinces of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia in the southeast.
Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine’s top security official, said that Russian troops were trying to break through Ukraine’s defenses “along the entire front line in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv”.
Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff to the president of Ukraine, called this “phase two of the war” and said Ukrainian forces could cope. “Believe our military, they are very strong,” he said.
After encountering strong resistance from Ukraine in the north, Moscow now focuses on two provinces in the Donbass region, while simultaneously attacking other targets from afar, including the capital Kiev.
Governor Kharkiv said the government continued to evacuate people from two areas expected to have fighting.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces attacked hundreds of Ukrainian military targets overnight. Russia says its missiles destroyed 16 military installations across Ukraine, struck 108 areas where Ukrainian forces were concentrated, and shelled 315 military targets.
On April 18, a US defense official said that the US military is expected to begin training Ukrainians in the use of howitzers in the coming days. This operation will take place outside Ukraine.
On the same day, French President Emmanuel Macron said he had stopped communicating with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the alleged killings of civilians.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Soha.vn – Read the original article here
