Russia says "another phase" of its Ukraine invasion has begun

"Another phase" of Russia's invasion of Ukraine "is starting now," Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said in a television interview seen in India on Tuesday, stressing that Russia's goal is the "full liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics." His comments came hours after Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia's offensive in the east of the country had started.

"The Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas," Zelenskyy said in a video address late Monday. A "significant part of the entire Russian army is now concentrated on this offensive."

The eastern Donbas region of Ukraine is mostly Russian-speaking. Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces there for the past eight years and have declared two independent republics that have been recognized by Russia.