Zelensky: The Russian army has begun offensive to Donbas, but we will defend ourselves

“We can now confirm that Russian troops have launched the battle for Donbas, which they have long prepared. A large part of the Russian Army is now dedicated to this offensive”, he said in his account at the telegram on April 18th.

It doesn't matter how many Russian troops were sent there, we will fight. We will defend ourselves. We'll do this every day”, he said.

Zelensky has thanked Ukrainian defenders, all the cities of Donbas, including Marioupoli, but also the cities in the Harkiwi region, which “enhance the fate of the entire state”.

Ukrainian military officials have said earlier that Russia appears to have launched new offensive, following a series of missile attacks on military infrastructure in the western town of Lviv, as a result of which at least seven people have died.

Ukraine's General Staff has said it has seen “the appearance of a new offensive in the eastern region of” and seems to be the areas of Harkivi and Donjeck.

The governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Hasai, also reported the offensive.

We lost control of the city of Kremina. There is fighting on the road”, he said, citing that evacuations are no longer possible.

Every hour the situation gets worse”.

In addition to seven people killed in Lviv, another 11 have been sent to hospital for treatment, Lviv government officials have said on April 18th.

Lviv and the rest of the western Ukraine have been less affected by the attacks compared to the rest of the state.

Russia has said that through attacks on Lviv it has destroyed a large warehouse with foreign weapons, which have recently been sent to Ukraine.

Russian aircraft have hit the Ukrainian logistics centre “where there have been foreign weapons sent to Ukraine by the United States and European countries in the last six days” and “have destroyed them”, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konasenkov has said.

He has said the ammunition has been destroyed in the Kiev region as well.

Over 100,000 people stranded in Marioupol

Meanwhile, continuing the siege of Marioupolis in southeast Ukraine has resulted in considerable civilian casualties and the destruction of a large portion of the infrastructure.

Ukraine has accused Russia of applying the tactics of wars such as in Chechnya and Syria, despite Moscow's claims at the start of the invasion that “Russia will neither hit cities nor threaten Ukrainian population”.

It is estimated that 100,000 people remain within the city, without food, water, heat or electricity, Ukrainian officials have said.

Before the war, Marioupolis had 450,000 inhabitants.

The White House said on April 18th that American President Joe Biden has no plans to visit Kiev.

Biden s'ka plans to visit Kiev

Zelensky has called on Beden to demonstrate US support in fighting against Russia, traveling to the Ukrainian capital, but White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki has said there are no plans for the American president to go there.

Zelensky said on April 17th that he thinks Biden will pay such a visit, but has said the decision belongs to the American president and will depend on the security situation.

The White House said that instead in Beden, it is likely that senior American officials, such as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken or US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, will visit Kiev. / REL