Signs point to start of Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine: General Staff

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) – On day 54 of the war, Ukraine is seeing signs that Russia’s long-anticipated offensive in the country’s east has started, military officials said late Monday.

The Russian "aggressor" has intensified offensive and assault operations in some areas in the Slobozhansky and Donetsk districts of Donbas, eastern Ukraine, said Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesman for the Ukrainian General Staff.

Saying that Moscow continues its "full-scale armed aggression" against the capital Kyiv, the statement added that Russian forces are launching missile and bomb strikes on the country’s industrial and civilian infrastructure.

"The main efforts of the Russian enemy are focused on establishing full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (regions) and maintaining the previously captured territory," said the statement.

Donbas, where both oblasts are located, has been wracked by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. Just before starting the war in late February, Russia recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as “independent.”

There is speculation Russia turned to Donbas after its war efforts elsewhere in Ukraine fell short, but Ukrainian leaders have ruled out giving away territory to end the war.

The statement added that in order to "strengthen offensive capabilities," Russian forces continue to form additional units in Russia's southern Rostov region and in Crimea, an area of Ukraine Russia has illegally occupied since 2014.

- 'Offensive operations intensified'

In Donetsk and Tavriya, the statement said, Russian forces continue to focus their efforts on capturing the settlements of Lyman, Kreminna, Popasna, and Rubizhne, as well as establishing "full control" over the besieged port city of Mariupol.

The statement said Russian "offensive operations" also intensified in Siverodonetsk, Popasna, Kurakhiv and Zaporizhzhia, adding that Moscow continues to concentrate additional tank and artillery units there.

"The battle for Mariupol continues. The Russian enemy is storming the seaport," it said.

Also, Russian naval forces in the waters of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov continue to "isolate the sea coast of Ukraine, as well as doing reconnaissance," the statement said.

"The Russian occupiers continue to cynically violate international humanitarian law, block initiatives to evacuate civilians from occupied settlements, refuse to coordinate humanitarian routes, and fire on areas near possible 'green corridors'," the statement said.

At least 2,072 civilians have been killed and 2,818 injured in Ukraine so far in the war, according to UN estimates, with the true figure believed to be much higher.

More than 4.9 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with over 7 million more internally displaced, said the UN refugee agency.