The Battle for Donbas
has begun, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said announcing what was
expected of the Russian approach – the offensive moving to eastern Ukraine.
Explosions were heard from along the frontlines and a local government official
told Al Jazeera that there was “constant fighting”. Moscow’s renewed eagle-eyed
focus on eastern Ukraine comes after Russian forces had to retreat from the
north in the face of Ukrainian resistance.

Where it all
began

The Donbas is
where it all began. Russian President Vladimir Putin granted legitimacy to the
separatist aspirations of Donetsk and Luhansk by recognising them as
independent republics right before the launch of the “special military
operation” in Ukraine on February 24. In Donbas, Moscow-backed forces have been
fighting Ukraine for the last eight years.

The
significance of Donbas

Located in Ukraine’s
industrial heartland, the Donbas is one of the regions with a high
Russian-speaking population. Coal mining and metallurgy are the major
industries in this region and the Donbas has some of the most hazardous mines
in the world because of their depth and frequent methane explosions.

For Moscow, the
Russian-speaking population in the Donbas has come under attack by Ukraine. The
Kremlin has now recalibrated its war goals to make capturing Donbas its primary
focus.  

Ukraine, on the other
hand, refuses to let Donbas go. “No matter how many Russian troops are driven
there, we will fight. We will defend ourselves. We will do it every day.” Andriy
Yermak, the president’s chief of defence staff, has called the Russian aggression
in Donbas “the second phase of the war”. “Believe in our army, it is very
strong,” he said.

How things
stand

The Russian attack
in Donbas has been brutal as usual. Increased assaults were reported from
Luhansk and Donetsk regions – both of which are part of Donbas – as well as the
area of Zaporizhzhia. “This morning, almost along the whole frontline of the
Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions, the occupiers attempted to breakthrough
our defences,” said Ukraine’s national security council secretary, Oleksiy
Danilov.