New phase of Ukraine war begins in Donbas

The Russians are focused on consolidating their foothold in Donetsk and Luhansk, opening a new phase of its invasion.

Ukrainian soldiers stand next to their armoured personnel carrier near the frontline with Russian troops in the Kharkiv region on Monday. Picture: AFP

Russia began the battle of the Donbas with a night of intense bombing along Ukraine’s eastern front, opening a new phase of its invasion after being thwarted in efforts to capture the capital.

After weeks of a stalled assault on Kyiv and then retreating to ­­re-set, the Russian forces are now ­focused on consolidating their foothold in Donetsk and Luhansk – territory that they have been battling with Ukrainian troops since 2014.

Heavy assaults by Russian forces had began on Easter Monday along almost the entire frontline in the east of the country, as well as at Slobozhanshchina in a bid to capture Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second biggest city, in the northeast. Heavy fighting was reported in Marinka, Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.

“We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, which they have been preparing for a long time. A large part of the Russian army is now dedicated to this offensive,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“No matter how many Russian soldiers are brought here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves. I am grateful to all our fighters, to all our heroic cities in Donbas, Mariupol, as well as to the cities in the ­region of Kharkiv that are being held.”

Ahead of the widely anticipated advance, Ukrainian authorities had urged people in Donbas to flee west to escape.

“The second phase of the war has started,” Kyiv’s presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said.

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

After the first night of fighting the Ukraine General Staff reported it had destroyed 10 tanks, 18 armoured vehicles, eight other ­vehicles and an artillery system.

Russia appears to be using the town of Izyum as a major staging post. The Pentagon believes that the Kremlin has sent another 11 battalion tactical groups – comprising, among other things, artillery, helicopters, and logistical support – to the Donbas, bringing the total in the country to 76.

Christina Dragun holds her daughter Olya Siksoy during the burial for her husband Ukrainian soldier Ruslan Siksoy in Lviv. Siksoy was killed while fighting against the Russian military in the Donbas area. Picture: Getty Images

The Russian military said its missiles hit more than 20 military targets focusing mainly on factories and railways. It claimed ­another 315 artillery strikes and 108 aerial attacks on troops and military equipment.

This second phase of the war, which started with the February 24 invasion, will involve different strategies because of the shorter, more reliable supply lines to the Russian forces, but also because the troops in the area on both sides have been battle hardened by constant fighting over the past eight years. This is the area where ­Malaysian Airlines MH17 was brought down by a Russian BUK missile fired by separatist troops in 2014, killing 298 people, including 38 Australians.

Luhansk regional official Serhiy Haidai told Hromadse radio that Ukrainian troops had withdrawn from Kreminna because it made no sense to keep the city.

He expressed frustration that despite the army’s best efforts to encourage people to flee in recent weeks while roads and train lines were still open, some people had delayed. He estimated about 3000 people were still in Kreminna, which was once home to 18,000. About 70,000 civilians remained across Luhansk, but the window to escape had now closed.

Mr Haidai feared that Russia troops would not fight “exclusively with the military”.

“They will destroy everything, as in Mariupol and just walk through this area,’’ he said.

“There are no safe places in ­Luhansk, the whole territory is under fire”.

He believed Russia would shell certain areas “in a big picture of puzzles” rather than conduct a wall to wall offensive.

In the south of the region, Russia continued its push to capture the besieged port city of Mariupol, where the last remaining Ukrainian forces have taken a final stand. But despite the desperate situation in the city, a senior US Defence Department official said Mariupol “is still contested”.

Monday also saw the first shipments of a new US military aid package arrive at Ukraine’s borders to be handed over in its fight against the Russian invasion.

The US last Wednesday unveiled an $US800m ($1.1bn) tranche of equipment for Ukraine, including helicopters, howitzers and armoured personnel carriers.

Moscow’s forces on Monday 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, 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 said after the strikes.

Additional reporting: AFP