The Latest Breaking News from Donbas

Moscow has officially begun a "new phase" of its war in Ukraine, shifting its attention to the largely Russian-speaking Donbas. Prior to the February invasion, Russian proxies, who created pro-Moscow statelets, controlled around a third of the Donbas region. With striking prescience, novelist Andrey Kurkov explored the conflict from the…

Mariupol's fall is getting closer after Putin boasted about missile test

Russian forces tightened the noose around die-hard Ukrainian defenders holed up at a Mariupol steel plant Wednesday amid desperate new efforts to open an evacuation corridor for civilians trapped in the ruined city, a key battleground in Moscow’s drive to seize the country's industrial east. As the holdouts came under…

New war phase begins with Russia focusing on Ukraine’s east and south as the West steps up arms deliveries.

Marine commander appeals for help as another Russian ultimatum calling for remaining troops in city to surrender expires

Shelling and strikes in Donbas increasing but Russians hampered by logistical problems, UK claims. Plus, Biden’s $6bn effort to save nuclear plants

Russian forces have seized the city of Kreminna in eastern Ukraine, a sign the "battle for Donbas" has well and truly begun as Russia shifts focus to claim Ukraine's industrial heartlands.

Russian forces have refocused their attacks in the Donbas after withdrawing from the north

A makeshift hospital in Mariupol has been hit, Ukrainian officials say