Ukraine war: Russia bombards cities as eastern offensive begins

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia has launched an assault to seize the eastern Donbas region.

Moscow bombarded cities with rocket and artillery fire on Monday and in a video address Mr Zelensky said that the battle "for the Donbas has begun".

Ukraine's top security official, Oleksiy Danilov, said that Russia tried to break through Ukrainian front lines in the region.

The offensive has been long-expected after Russia failed to seize Kyiv.

Russia initially appeared to want to capture major Ukrainian cities and topple the government. read more