Russian forces have started the battle for Donbas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Monday, writes CNN.

“Russian forces have started the battle for Donbas for which they"ve been preparing for a long time and a considerable amount of the Russian forces are concentrated and focused on that offensive”, - Zelensky said.

The president underscored that Ukrainian forces will continue to fight against a Russian incursion in the region.

“No matter how many Russian servicemen they’re bringing into that area, we will keep on fighting and defending and we will be doing this daily. We will not give up anything that is Ukrainian but we don"t need anything that is not ours”, - Zelensky said.

“I’m thankful to all of our warriors, our soldiers, our heroic towns and towns in the region who are resisting and standing firm”, - he added.