"We can now say that Russian forces have started the battle of the Donbas, for which they have long prepared," he said in a video address. Ukraine's presidential chief of staff said that "the second phase of the war has started," referring to Russia's new assault... "This morning, along almost the entire front line of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions, the occupiers attempted to break through our defences," Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said in televised comments. "They began their attempt to start the active phase this morning," he said.