According to the defence ministry on Tuesday, Russia’s military carried out dozens of airstrikes in eastern Ukraine overnight after Ukrainian officials indicated Moscow had begun a massive offensive.

Airstrikes “hit 60 military assets of Ukraine,” including towns along the eastern frontline, according to the ministry. The government claims that “high-precision air-based missiles” have attacked 13 Ukrainian positions in the Donbass. This includes Slovyansk, a strategic town.

It was reported that Russian troops had destroyed two warehouses in Lugansk’s Chervona Polyana and Kharkiv’s Balakliia that contained Tochka-U tactical missile warheads.

The Ministry of Defense claimed in a statement that 1,260 military targets were hit by rockets and artillery overnight.

“Russian air defence systems shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter near the village of Malynivka in the Donetsk region,” the statement added.

Russia’s military assault on eastern Ukraine has entered a new phase, according to officials in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

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