Russian offensive going 'very cautiously', Ukrainian presidential adviser says

Firefighters work at the site of military strikes on buildings as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Lviv, Ukraine April 18, 2022. REUTERS/Pavlo Palamarchuk

Russia's new offensive in eastern Ukraine is going "very cautiously" and will fail because Moscow's forces lack the strength to break through Ukrainian defences, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday.

Presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said Rusisan forces were trying to find "sensitive spots" in Ukraine's defences but added: "Their offensive will fail - I give you a 99% guarantee - they simply do not have enough strength."

"The battle for Donbas, which was announced and apparently began yesterday, is under way and is going very cautiously. The battle will not go in Russia's favour," he said on national television.

Smoke rises above a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works company and buildings damaged in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 18, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Russian forces were trying to push through Ukrainian defences along almost the entire front line in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

After being pushed back by Ukrainian forces from an assault on Kyiv, Russia has regrouped to focus on a new offensive in eastern Ukraine.

FILE PHOTO: A Ukrainian serviceman stand next to a Javelin anti-tank missile, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at a position in Donetsk Region, Ukraine April 18, 2022. REUTERS/Serhii Nuzhnenko/File Photo

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)