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IPFS News Link • Russia

"Battle Of Donbas" In Full Swing As Russia Launches 'Hellish' All-Out Assault

• https://www.zerohedge.com, by Tyler Durden

The opening hours of Tuesday were marked by constant shelling and missile strikes in the region.

"Another stage of this operation (in eastern Ukraine) is beginning and I am sure this will be a very important moment of this entire special operation," Lavrov announced during a live interview with India Today on Tuesday.

Importantly, when asked about whether the 'special operation' launch by Vladimir Putin would eventually extend to the capital of Kiev, Lavrov responded: "We are not up for regime change in Ukraine." This coming weeks after Russia's military commanders announced a new focus on liberating the east.

Further as translated in state sources, the top diplomat emphasized that "Russia had no other choice but to start the operation, as Ukrainian forces had intensified attacks in Donbass, prompting mass evacuations of civilians from the region and forcing the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics to ask Moscow for help."

As heavy military assets and troops poured into the far eastern Ukrainian region starting from the weekend through the past days, President Volodymyr Zelensky assessed in a video address that a "very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive," adding that "No matter how many Russian troops they send there, we will fight. We will defend ourselves."

At least dozens of Russian strikes have been reported throughout the Donbas as the operation kicked into forces during the overnight and morning hours:

Russia has launched a full-scale ground offensive to take control of Ukraine's east, according to authorities in Kyiv, with explosions reported all along the front lines and one local official describing the situation as "hell" amid "constant fighting"


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