俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京对邻国乌克兰的“特殊军事行动”始于2月24日，俄罗斯军队从北部的白俄罗斯和东部的俄罗斯入侵。据美国官员称，乌克兰军队进行了“顽强抵抗”。

此后，俄罗斯军队从乌克兰北部撤退，留下了一连串的死亡和破坏。美国和许多欧洲国家指责俄罗斯犯有战争罪，此前基辅附近的布加勒斯特镇出现了平民死亡的图片。据说莫斯科现在正重新将进攻重点放在东顿巴斯地区，试图占领被围困的港口城市马里乌波尔。

泽伦斯基:俄罗斯军队已经开始进攻顿巴斯地区

乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽伦斯基表示，经过一周的集结，俄罗斯军队已经开始在该国东部发动进攻。

“现在可以说，俄罗斯军队已经开始了顿巴斯之战，他们为此已经准备了很长时间，”总统在他的夜间讲话中说。"整个俄罗斯军队的很大一部分现在都集中在这次进攻上。"

乌克兰和美国官员表示，过去一周撤出基辅地区的俄罗斯军队正在向乌克兰东部转移，这是接管乌克兰政府部分控制的土地的新努力的一部分自称的顿涅茨克和卢甘斯克共和国。在2014年开始的战争之后，这两个分离地区已经与俄罗斯结盟。

乌克兰总统新闻服务通过路透社

乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽伦斯基在他的晚间讲话中说

然而，泽伦斯基警告说，俄罗斯军队不会成功占领乌克兰东南部地区的所有土地。

“不管有多少俄罗斯士兵被赶到那里，我们都会战斗，”他说。“我们会保护自己。我们将每天都这样做。我们不会放弃乌克兰的任何东西，我们也不需要不属于我们的东西。”

乌克兰东部的战斗是俄罗斯未来攻势“塑造行动”的一部分

五角大楼发言人约翰·柯比周一表示，尽管乌克兰东部顿巴斯地区的战斗已经持续了几周，但这是俄罗斯正在进行的未来攻势“塑造”行动的一部分，而不是攻势本身。

“我们并不否认顿巴斯没有发生战斗，”柯比说。“我们要说的是，我们仍然认为我们所看到的是一项成形操作。”

他说:“俄罗斯人正在继续为他们相信将在地面上取得的最终成功创造条件，他们投入了更多的部队，投入了更多的使能手段，为即将到来的行动投入了更多的指挥和控制能力。”。

当被要求澄清他的答案时，柯比回答说:“我们认为，俄罗斯人正在塑造和设置未来进攻行动的条件。我们也看到...就像过去几周一样，顿巴斯现在正在进行激烈的战斗。”

柯比将被围困的港口城市马里乌波尔的战斗描述为其中的一部分，因为俄罗斯人“试图为在顿巴斯进行更具侵略性、更公开和更大规模的地面演习创造条件。”

他补充说，俄罗斯还继续提供火炮、直升机、支援部队和更多的指挥和控制单位，作为即将到来的行动的基础工作的一部分。

柯比表示，美国认为俄罗斯在乌克兰东部和南部加强了营级战术小组的数量，作为他们为顿巴斯地区大规模行动做准备的一部分。

美国仍在评估俄罗斯在利沃夫的打击:柯比

五角大楼发言人约翰·柯比(John Kirby)表示，美国仍在评估俄罗斯周一在乌克兰西部利沃夫试图袭击的目标。

柯比表示，他不会将周一的空袭描述为“轰炸”，并表示他不知道俄罗斯的意图。

“对于他们的目标和打击目标，我们没有一个清晰的战损评估。在这个时候，我们没有任何迹象表明西方援助是有针对性的和/或击中或摧毁，”柯比说。

美国自4月11日起向在美国的乌克兰人提供临时保护身份

根据美国国土安全部在联邦公报中的一份新通知，美国将从4月11日起向已经在该国的乌克兰人提供临时保护身份。

拜登政府上个月宣布，如果乌克兰人在3月1日之前抵达美国，将为他们提供留在美国的法律依据。这一新通知意味着，截至4月11日一直在美国的乌克兰人可以申请合法身份，有效期为18个月，直到2023年10月19日。

根据联邦注册通知，美国公民和移民服务局估计约有59，000名乌克兰人符合资格。

乌克兰总统办公室主任安德烈·叶尔马克(Andriy Yermak)在推特上发布了这一变化，他说这是应乌克兰政府的要求做出的。

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia begins long-awaited offensive in eastern Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation" into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered "stiff resistance," according to U.S. officials.

Russian forces have since retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The United States and many European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. Moscow is now said to be refocusing its offensive on the eastern Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Zelenskyy: Russian forces have begun offensive in Donbas region

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces have begun their offensive in the eastern part of the country after a week of building up troops.

"It can now be stated that Russian troops have begun the battle for Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time," the president said in his nightly address. "A very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive."

Ukrainian and U.S. officials have said Russian troops exiting the Kyiv region over the last week were moving to eastern Ukraine as part of a new effort to take over land partially controlled by theself-proclaimed Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Those two breakaway regions were already aligned with Russia following a war that began in 2014.

Zelenskyy, however, warned that Russian forces would not be successful in taking all of the land in the southeastern region of Ukraine.

"No matter how many Russian soldiers are driven there, we will fight," he said. "We will defend ourselves. We will do it daily. We will not give up anything Ukrainian, and we do not need what's not ours."

Combat in eastern Ukraine part of Russia's 'shaping operations' for future offensive

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday that while there has been combat in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine for some weeks, it is part of Russia’s ongoing "shaping" operations for a future offensive, and not the offensive itself.

"We're not disputing that there's not combat going on in the Donbas," Kirby said. "What we're saying is that we still consider that what we're seeing to be a piece of shaping operations."

“That the Russians are continuing to set conditions for what they believe will be eventual success on the ground by using, by putting, in more forces, putting in more enablers, putting in more command and control capability for operations yet to come," he said.

Asked to clarify his answer, Kirby replied: "We believe that the Russians are shaping and setting the conditions for future offensive operations. We also see ... that there is active combat going on right now in the Donbas as there has been for the last several weeks."

Kirby described the fighting in the besieged port city of Mariupol as part of that since the Russians are "trying to set the conditions for more aggressive, more overt and larger ground maneuvers in the Donbas."

He added that the Russians have also continued to flow in artillery, helicopters, enabling troops and more command and control units as part of the groundwork for that upcoming operation.

Kirby said that the U.S. believes that Russia has reinforced the number of battalion tactical groups in eastern and southern Ukraine as part of their preparations for a large operation in the Donbas region.

US still assessing Russian strike in Lviv: Kirby

The U.S. is still assessing what the Russians were attempting to strike in Lviv in western Ukraine on Monday, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

Kirby said he would not describe Monday's airstrike as a "bombardment" and said he did not know Russia's intent.

"We don't have a clear sense of battle damage assessment about what they were targeting and what they hit. At this time, we don't have any indication that Western aid was targeted and/or hit or destroyed," Kirby said.

US offering temporary protected status to Ukrainians in US as of April 11

The U.S. will offer temporary protected status to Ukrainians already in the country as of April 11, according to a new notice from the Department of Homeland Security in the Federal Register.

The Biden administration announced last month that it would offer Ukrainians this legal basis to stay in the U.S. if they had arrived before March 1. This new notice means that Ukrainians who have been in the U.S. as of April 11 can apply for the legal status, which will remain in effect for 18 months -- until Oct. 19, 2023.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services estimates that about 59,000 Ukrainians could be eligible, according to the Federal Register notice.

Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has tweeted about the change, which he said was made at the Ukrainian government's request.