Russian forces targeting civilian areas in eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian officials said Russian troops are preparing for a new offensive in the eastern region of Ukraine — appearing to mainly target civilian areas.

“The enemy has almost finished preparation for [an] assault on the east, the attack will begin soon,” Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, a spokesman for Ukraine’s defense ministry, said at a news conference Monday.

Russia’s attack on a train station on Friday in the eastern city Kramatorsk that killed over 57 civilians indicated to Ukrainian officials that Moscow has begun to shift its focus geographically after failing to take over Kyiv. 

An additional 11 civilians were killed in another major eastern city, Kharkiv, after Russian forces launched 66 different attacks Sunday, the regional governor of Kharkiv said Monday. Satellite images also appeared to show an 8-mile-long convoy of Russian military vehicles moving toward the Donbas area in southeastern Ukraine, according to an NBC News report. 

“Russian troops will move to even larger operations in the east of our state,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday night in a public address. “But we are preparing for their actions. We will respond.”

Since Friday, about 13,400 civilians have been evacuated from eastern Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials, as reported by The New York Times. However, Ukrainians have accused Russia of targeting evacuation routes as civilians tried to escape in the past.

Ukrainian officials’ warning that Russia is shifting its focus on the eastern region came as Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, told state television Russia will not halt its military operations despite ongoing peace talks.