Russia intensified its assaults on eastern Ukraine on Tuesday with a massive offensive in hopes of turning the tide following seven weeks of pushback by Ukrainian forces and civilian fighters.
After Russia failed to topple the capital city of Kyiv, the Kremlin declared its main objective would be to capture the Donbas region. If successful, it would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a vital piece of Ukraine and a badly needed victory that he could present to his people amid growing casualties and economic hardship caused by several rounds of punishing sanctions by the West.
The Donbas region has been torn by fighting between Russian-allied separatists and Ukrainian forces since 2014. Military strategists have said Russia is banking on local support, logistics, and terrain in the Donbas to favor Russia’s larger and better-armed military.
“Another phase of this operation is starting now,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday, adding that the Kremlin’s goal is to achieve “full liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics,” which make up the Donbas region.
With its new, narrower goal focused on the east, Russian forces started arranging themselves in a semicircle that stretches west to east from the city of Izium to Sieverodonetsk and sent a small detachment of troops to check out Ukrainian lines, the New York Times reported. Called “shaping operations” in military circles, these smaller attacks are often precursors to larger troop movements.
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The Pentagon estimated the Russian troop presence has grown in Ukraine by 10,000 in the past couple of days and includes 76 battalion tactical groups, each made up of 700 to 1,000 soldiers. Another 22 battalions are stationed north of Ukraine, where they are likely being refitted and resupplied before heading back to the battlefield.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that air-launched missiles destroyed 13 Ukrainian troop and weapons locations, while Vladimir Putin’s air force hit 60 other Ukrainian military facilities, including missile warhead storage depots. Russian artillery hit 1,260 Ukrainian military facilities and 1,214 troop concentrations over the past 24 hours, the Associated Press reported.
The intense fighting has made it impossible for civilians to evacuate, leaving hundreds trapped as the two militaries prepare to face off in what could be the bloodiest battles the war has seen since Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Russia and Ukraine have failed to agree on evacuation corridors for the third straight day. Despite this, regional officials have continued to urge civilians to flee as fast as possible.
“There is no time for reflection,” Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, posted on social media. “Get out!”
In the besieged port city of Mariupol, about 2,000 civilians were stuck in a large steel factory along with the last remaining Ukrainian forces.
Russia’s Defense Ministry called on the Ukrainian defenders to surrender and proposed a temporary truce that would allow them to leave the plant but warned, “Do not test your fate.”
Mariupol has been the target of massive shelling since the start of the invasion and has been one of the hardest-hit areas. The strategic port city has withstood weeks of near-constant shelling and bombardment from the land, sea, and air. Russian forces have gone after civilians, including children, as well as schools, hospitals, and people standing in food lines. They have cut off lines of communication from the besieged city and, at times, prohibited humanitarian convoys from entering.
Meanwhile, Putin has awarded a brigade accused of committing war crimes in Bucha with the title of “Guards” for “protecting Russia’s sovereignty,” CNN reported.
Troops in the 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade were decried as ruthless war criminals after their commander, Azatbek Omurbekov, allegedly ordered them to commit “utterly inhumane” atrocities in Bucha, a town about 15 miles outside of Kyiv.
Under Omurbekov’s commands, Russian troops allegedly killed, tortured, and raped men, women, and children indiscriminately. Corpses were cut up, shoved into sewers, or tossed into shallow mass graves. After they ravaged the city, they set it on fire.
In a signed letter on Monday, Putin congratulated the unit for “great heroism and courage” before designating them as “Guards.”
“Through astute and bold actions during the special military operation in Ukraine, the unit’s staff became a role model in fulfilling its military duty, valor, dedication and professionalism,” Putin’s statement said.
As Putin was congratulating the troops, Ukraine filled out its membership questionnaire for the European Union. President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pushing for entry into the EU, but it’s unlikely that will take place any time soo
Elsewhere, Greece detained a Russian-flagged oil tanker at the port of Karystos, citing sanctions placed on Russia as punishment for its actions in Ukraine.
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In the United States, President Joe Biden is expected to hold a call with allies on Tuesday morning to discuss further “efforts to hold Russia accountable.” On Monday, the Biden administration also expanded eligibility for a program that lets Ukrainians living in the U.S. illegally temporarily stay and work in the country, roughly doubling the number of people who can apply, according to a notice filed by the Department of Homeland Security.
