The Ukrainian army launched a full-scale offensive on Donetsk.

On July 10, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry announced it was launching a “full-scale offensive” against rebel forces entrenched around the industrial hub of Donetsk and the neighboring city of Lugansk in eastern Ukraine.

A group of AFP reporters about 30 km west of Donetsk heard heavy artillery fire around the small village of Karlivka.

Ukrainian troops massed near Slavyansk on July 8. (Photo: Reuters)

Earlier that day, according to AFP, Ukrainian government forces had massed tanks and armored vehicles in an area 20 km south of Donetsk, a city occupied by rebels.

According to Ukrainian soldiers, a convoy stretching approximately 1.5 kilometers arrived in the area on July 9 without encountering any resistance.

This is part of a campaign to encircle Donetsk and the neighboring city of Lugansk, also controlled by pro-Russian separatist forces.

According to VNA