After announcing it would focus its efforts on eastern Ukraine, Russia intensified its assault on cities and towns throughout the region on Tuesday.
There were clashes along a front line spanning hundreds of miles, as the battle for the Donbas region entered a critical stage.
While this new offensive had been expected after Russia failed to seize the capital Kyiv, it could bear huge importance on how the war plays out.
That's because, if Russia conquers the Donbas, it would allow President Vladimir Putin to claim some achievement from the invasion.
But Tuesday's clashes showed that Ukraine's forces are still able to hold firm, and the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky - in reference to the east - pledged to "not give up anything Ukrainian".
