Russia's battle in Donbass marks new phase

Russia launched a major military operation in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday as the country opened a new phase of its campaign.

With Moscow's special military operation now refocused on the eastern region of Donbass, United States officials were due to hold a video meeting with representatives of its allies on Tuesday to discuss the conflict.

"We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbass, which they have been preparing for a long time," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the Telegram app late on Monday.

"No matter how many Russian soldiers are brought here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves."

Ahead of the widely anticipated advance, Ukrainian authorities had urged people in Donbass to flee west to escape. Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said the "second phase of the war" has started.

Shortly before Zelensky's address, the regional governor of the Lugansk region, Sergiy Gaiday, also announced the beginning of Russia's much-anticipated attack.

Russia's intensified move on the Donbass comes as much of the world's attention focuses on the besieged southern city of Mariupol, where vastly outnumbered Ukrainian troops are holding out against Russian forces.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said Russian forces had not conquered the city.

Despite the desperate situation in Mariupol, where the last remaining Ukrainian forces have taken a final stand, a senior US Defense Department official said the port city "is still contested".

Amid the shift in Russia's military focus, the Ukrainian presidential office said on Monday that Zelensky had given the head of the European Union delegation in Kyiv a completed questionnaire that paves the way for Ukraine to gain the status of candidate for EU membership.

"This is an important signal. We believe that this procedure will take place in the coming weeks and that it will be positive for the history of our people," Zelensky said.

In other battlefield developments on Monday, Russia's Defense Ministry said it had hit 16 military targets across Ukraine.

Among the sites struck was a depot near the western city of Lviv that Moscow said held weapons recently delivered from the US and Europe.

Russia has also added 11 battalion tactical groups－consisting of, among other things, artillery, helicopters, and logistical support－to its forces in eastern Ukraine, the official added, bringing the total to 76 in the country.

More military supplies

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 troops.

Fresh attacks were also reported on Russia's border with Ukraine.

Social media accounts based in Russia's Belgorod region shared photographs of what were said to be farm buildings allegedly destroyed in the attacks.

"There was shelling from Ukraine of the Golovchino village," Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on social media, referring to a settlement 13 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

The Belgorod region has reported 12 incidents, including shelling, oil terminal explosions and military vehicle accidents, since the Feb 24 start of the military operation.

Ukraine has not confirmed the shelling that Moscow blames on Kyiv.

Google Maps denied reports on Monday that it had made Russia's strategic facilities visible to users, allegedly revealing details of the country's military infrastructure.

Earlier reports said Google had removed the blurring of satellite imagery of nuclear weapons stores, submarines, and military bases in Russia.

Google spokesperson Genevieve Park, in an email quoted by US website The Verge, said: "We haven't made any blurring changes to our satellite imagery in Russia."