Kiev, April 19 : Russia has launched a full-scale ground offensive to take control of Ukraine’s east, with explosions reported all along the front lines , Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday. According to Ukrain’s President Volodymyr Zelensky the “Battle for Donbas” began on Monday, which involved a “very large part of the entire Russian army now focused on this offensive”. Donbas region is Ukraine’s primarily Russian-speaking industrial heartland in the east, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for the past eight years. Pro-Russian leaders there have declared two independent republics, which Russia recognised before launching its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The Kremlin has declared the capture of the Donbas its primary goal after it failed to capture the capital Kyiv. This forced an overhauling of its strategy by the Russian forces and focus their attention on the east where they have had much better success. Zelenskyy, has pledged to fight back at all cost. The Ukrainian military has reported increased assaults in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions – both of which are part of the Donbas – as well as in the area of Zaporizhzhia. ACL1101