Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday said that the Russian forces have launched a new offensive in the country’s eastern region of Donbas.

“The Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas,” Zelenskyy said in a video address, according to the Associated Press. “A significant part of the entire Russian army is now concentrated on this offensive.”

Russia has declared the capture of Donbas as the primary goal of its war against Ukraine, according to the BBC.

The Donbas region has been partly controlled by pro-Russia separatists, who have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014. Moscow has already said that it considers two cities in the region – Donetsk and Lugansk – as independent republics.

On Monday, officials in eastern Ukraine said that eight civilians were killed in the eastern region due to shelling by Russian forces, the BBC reported.

A series of explosions were also heard in the Donetsk region, Reuters reported, citing Ukrainian media.

“This morning, almost along the whole front line of the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions, the occupiers attempted to break through our defences,” said Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security council, according to the Associated Press. “Fortunately, our military is holding out. They passed through only two cities. This is Kreminna and another small town.”

On Tuesday, Russia told Ukrainian forces to “immediately lay down arms”, AFP reported.

It also gave an ultimatum to the Ukrainian forces defending the besieged port city of Mariupol.

“We once again call on the Kyiv authorities to show reason and give the corresponding orders to fighters to cease their senseless resistance,” the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement, AFP reported. “But, understanding that they will not get such instructions and orders from the Kyiv authorities, we call on [the fighters] to voluntarily take this decision and to lay down their arms.”

Meanwhile, the White House said that United States President Joe Biden would call his allies to discuss the situation in Ukraine, according to Reuters.

“The President will convene a secure video call with allies and partners to discuss our continued support for Ukraine and efforts to hold Russia accountable as part of our close coordination,” it said in a statement.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine

Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, in what it called a “special operation” to demilitarise and “de-Nazify” its neighbouring country. Ukraine and Western allies have said that this is a baseless pretext for a war of choice.

As per the United Nations’ human rights office, the conflict has killed at least 2,072 people and has left 2,818 injured till April 17. It also said that the real number of deaths could be considerably higher, and noted that there were delays in reporting from areas with intense hostilities.

On April 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that the peace talks with Ukraine have hit a dead end and his country would achieve its “noble aims”. He had added that the war must go on to defend the Russian speakers of eastern Ukraine, and prevent the area from being an “anti-Russian springboard for Moscow’s enemies”.