London : Russia has claimed that it has hit more than 1,200 Ukrainian targets with missiles, airstrikes and artillery, and street battles have broken out as President Vladimir Putin’s troops launched their new offensive in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, Daily Mail reported.
Russian troops managed to take control of the eastern city of Kreminna after hours of relentless bombing, as gunfights between Putin’s men and battling Ukrainian forces continue.
“Control over the city of Kreminna is lost, street fights are taking place,” Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said, as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has begun the “battle for the Donbas”.
Downing Street has been warned that the battle could take ‘months’, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson telling a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that Ukraine’s situation is ‘perilous’ with Putin intent on victory “regardless of the human cost”.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that high-precision air-based missiles had struck 13 Ukrainian positions in parts of the Donbas region, including the city of Slavyansk, while airstrikes had hit 60 military targets.
Overall, Russia claimed it has struck 1,260 Ukrainian military assets in the overnight bombardment and a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet has been shot down near Malinovka, Donetsk Region, Daily Mail reported.
–IANS