- We can confirm that Russian forces have begun the battle for Donbass, which they have been planning for a long time.
A large part of Russia's army is deployed to the offensive, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyji said in a video on Telegram on Monday night.
- No matter how many Russian soldiers are sent here, we will fight.
We will defend ourselves.
Every day.
The statement came after several heavy fighting was reported in all regions of eastern Ukraine on Monday.
"The war has now entered the next phase," said Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential staff, reports the BBC.
Local authorities in Kharkiv and the Luhansk region report heavy shelling by Russian troops.
Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov says on Ukrainian television that the city is "constantly bombed" and accuses Russia of attacks on civilian buildings in the city, reports CNN.
The governor: "It's a hell!"
In the neighboring region of Luhansk, the head of the regional military, Serhii Haidai, said that Russian troops on Monday intensified their shelling to break into the cities, and Luhansk region governor Sergij Gaidaj wrote on Facebook:
"It's a hell.
The offensive has begun, the one we have been talking about for weeks.
There are fighting going on all the time, "he writes, adding that fighting is taking place in both the cities of Rubizhne and Popasna and other peaceful cities.
In fact, the offensive appears to have started earlier on Monday when Oleksiy Danilov, head of the country's National Security and Defense Council, reported that Russian forces were trying to break through Ukrainian lines of defense "along almost the entire front against Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv."
"Fortunately, our military is holding its own," Danilov said.
"Ukraine is ready for the great battle"
Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak commented last week that Donbas is of strategic importance in any negotiations with Russia.
- Ukraine is ready for the big battle, and we must win it, not least the battle of the Donbas.
Only then can Ukraine gain a strong negotiating position, Podolyak said.
According to local authorities, Russian ground troops have entered the city of Kreminna in the Luhansk region and the Ukrainian military has withdrawn to regroup.