Day after day, Russia is pounding the Donbas region of Ukraine with relentless artillery and air raids, making slow but steady progress in seizing the industrial heartland of its neighbor.

With the conflict now in its fourth month, it's a high-stakes campaign that could dictate the course of the entire war.

Suppose Russia prevails in the battle of Donbas. In that case, it will mean that Ukraine loses not only land but perhaps the bulk of its most capable military forces, opening the way for Moscow to grab more territory and dictate its terms to Kyiv. A Russian failure could lay the grounds for a Ukrainian counteroffensive — and possibly lead to political upheaval for the Kremlin.

Following botched early attempts in the invasion to capture Kyiv and the second-largest city of Kharkiv without proper planning and coordination, Russia turned its attention to the Donbas, a region of mines and factories where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014.

Learning from its earlier missteps, Russia is treading more carefully there, relying on longer-range bombardments to soften Ukrainian defenses.

It seems to be working: The better-equipped Russian forces have made gains in both the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that make up the Donbas, controlling over 95% of the former and about half of the latter.

Ukraine is losing between 100 and 200 soldiers a day, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told the BBC, as Russia has “thrown pretty much everything non-nuclear at the front.” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier put the daily death toll at up to 100.

When the war was going badly for Russia, many thought President Vladimir Putin might claim victory after some gains in Donbas and then exit a conflict that had seriously bruised the economy and stretched its resources. But the Kremlin has made clear it expects Ukraine to recognize all the gains Russia has made since the start of the invasion — something Kyiv has ruled out.

Russian forces control the entire Sea of Azov coast, including the strategic port of Mariupol, the Kherson region — a key gateway to Crimea — and a large chunk of the Zaporizhzhia region, which could aid a further push deeper into Ukraine. Few expect that Putin will stop.

Russia has a clear edge in artillery in the battle for Donbas, thanks to a more significant number of heavy howitzers, rocket launchers, and abundant ammunition. The Ukrainians have had to be economical in using their artillery, with the Russians constantly targeting their supply lines.

Moscow's earlier territorial gains in the south, including the Kherson region and a large part of the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, have prompted Russian officials and their local appointees to ponder plans to fold those areas into Russia or declare them to be independent, like the so-called “people's republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Ukrainian officials and Western analysts voiced concern that Moscow could try to press its offensive into the heavily populated and industrialized Dnipro region farther north, an advance that could potentially slice Ukraine in two and raise a new threat for Kyiv.

Such ambitions all hinge on Moscow's success in the east. A defeat in the Donbas would put Kyiv in a precarious position, with new recruits lacking the skills of battle-hardened soldiers now fighting in the east and supplies of Western weapons insufficient to fend off a potentially deeper Russian push.

Ukrainian officials brushed off such fears, voicing confidence that its military can hold out to stem the Russian advances and even launch a counterattack.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy to publish book of wartime speeches in December called 'A Message from Ukraine'

Updated: 1:02 PM EDT Oct 18, 2022

A collection of wartime speeches by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, featuring an introduction written by the Ukrainian president, will be published Dec. 6.Video above: Zelenskyy gets standing ovation at United NationsCrown, a Penguin Random House division, announced Monday that the book will be called “A Message from Ukraine” and will also include a preface by Arkady Ostrovsky, the Economist's editor for Russia and Eastern Europe.“Supporting Ukraine is not a trend, a meme or a viral challenge," Zelenskyy said in a statement released by Crown. “It is not a force to rapidly spread across the planet and then just as rapidly disappear. If you want to understand who we are, where we are from, what we want and where we are going, you need to learn more about who we are. This book will help you do just that.”The proceeds will go to United24, the initiative Zelenskyy launched to coordinate charitable donations to Ukraine. Zelenskyy added that he has chosen 16 speeches that he hopes will help readers “understand Ukrainians: our aspirations, our principles, and our values.”The former actor and comedian was elected in 2019. He found himself suddenly transformed into a wartime leader after Russia's invasion in February, with his impassioned and defiant stance bringing comparisons to Winston Churchill among others.

Outside Ukraine, there is a raging war of information as Russian propaganda inspires pro-Russian protests in European countries.

Counteracting Russian disinformation is a priority for governments, and it's something the UK has been praised for arranging.

Its Ministry of Defense, or MOD, has been releasing regular intelligence updates used by independent military experts, journalists and analysts to decipher the truth about what's happening on the ground.

"Prior to the invasion, I had no idea whether the information is being released by the West is true or not. But it's turned out that it is true and that's given me a lot more confidence in the information that's now being released," said Sadakat Kadri, a London resident. 

This is a war being fought on two fronts, both on the ground in Ukraine, and outside of Ukraine in information. 

When it comes to counteracting Russian propaganda, the British government has been praised even by those who were once critical of the Ministry of Defense.

"I've been hugely critical of the MOD in the past about being useless at this sort of thing and hopeless at PR, but I think that that they're beginning to crack it," Stuart Crawford said.

Crawford is a military expert and former lieutenant colonel in the British army.

"Russia has tried to interfere in... various other elections around the world, so, I think it's very important that in many ways that the UK and... anybody in government try to keep the moral high ground," Crawford said.

In Russia, the BBC is broadcasting on shortwave radio after the government donated ₤5 million towards a special BBC World Service, as the Russian Federation pumps out falsehoods to its population. 

"They've become experts in disinformation across the internet," said Andrew Bridgen, a UK Parliament member. "They're well known for it. It's got a huge reach. That's how a lot of people receive their news and updates now, and it has to be countered. It's important that we play our part in doing that, getting the truth out to people. At the end of the day, the truth is the truth if no one believes it, and a lie is still a lie if everyone believes it."

Social media companies have scrambled to respond to Russian disinformation. On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reacted to Twitter restrictions on Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying all it was doing was telling the truth as countries and corporations rushed to respond to false claims and conspiracies.

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Sean Penn describes meeting with Ukraine's president in new interview

Updated: 6:27 AM EST Mar 5, 2022

After ditching a car in Ukraine and walking to the Polish border, Sean Penn is describing his meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The actor, activist and director was reportedly in the country working on a documentary when Russian forces invaded. After leaving the country, Penn discussed his experience and his meeting with Ukraine's president during an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper."I don't know if he knew that he was born for this, but it was clear I was in the presence of something I think reflected of so many Ukrainians that was new, new to the modern world in terms of courage and dignity and love, love that comes out of the man. And the way he has unified that country," Penn said of Zelenskyy. Penn called the experience "an extraordinary moment.""I was certainly impressed by (Zelenskyy) and terrified for him and for Ukraine," Penn said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that the first of 16,000 foreigners who have volunteered to fight for his country have arrived to help battle Russian invaders.

"Ukraine is already greeting foreign volunteers. (The) first 16,000 are already on their way to protect freedom and life for us, and for all," Zelenskyy said in a video shared to his Telegraph page Thursday.

"We have nothing to lose but our own freedom," he added.

According to The Washington Post, foreign citizens have been fighting for Ukraine since 2014, when Russian separatists seized an eastern region of the country. However, The Post says the fighters arriving in Ukraine now are "far beyond" what had previously been seen.

While it's unclear from which countries the volunteers had traveled, some of those arriving in Ukraine may have disobeyed orders from their own government about traveling to the country to fight. The U.S. and the U.K. are among the governments that have instructed citizens against volunteering and instead have provided Ukraine with weapons and aid, CNN reports.

A translator for a German news outlet began crying while she translated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech Sunday.

The woman, who is translating for German news service Welt, can be heard in the video as she interprets Zelenskyy's speech, saying, “Russia is on the path of evil. Russia must lose its voice in the U.N.,” Business Insider and The Telegraph reported.

She then begins choking up while interpreting the lines, "Ukrainians, we know exactly what we are defending. We will definitely win."

Zelenskyy was speaking to the citizens after several Ukrainian cities came under attack Saturday night, CBS News reported.

a Ukrainian official told CNN that a residential neighborhood in Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, was hit by Russian rockets.

According to the Kharkiv City Council, at least one female civilian was killed, and 31 others were wounded.

On Facebook, Ukraine's Interior Ministry said 352 Ukrainians have died since the beginning of Russia's invasion of the country, which began last week.

Speaking to his security council Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the Ukrainian military to take control of their country and overthrow president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Putin's televised address, laden with historical inaccuracies, comes a day after Moscow launched an invasion of Ukraine.

During the address, he told Ukraine's armed forces that it would be “easier for us" to agree with them than with “this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis that has settled in Kyiv and taken hostage the entire Ukrainian people."

Newsweek and Politico reported that Putin has frequently repeated the baseless claims that the Ukrainian government is a "Nazi" or "fascist" regime.

According to the news outlets, Zelenskyy is Jewish.

Putin went on to praise Russian troops for acting "courageously, professionally, heroically, fulfilling their military duty successfully and solving the most important task of ensuring the security of our people and our fatherland."

Putin's speech comes after the Kremlin said Russia had agreed to send a delegation to Belarus to talk with Ukrainian officials.

With the conflict entering its second day, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a tweet Friday morning that more than 50,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled the country, with most of them going to Poland and Moldova.

More than 50,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled their country in less than 48 hours — a majority to Poland and Moldova — and many more are moving towards its borders.

Heartfelt thanks to the governments and people of countries keeping their borders open and welcoming refugees.

— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) February 25, 2022

The Ukrainian president appeared more somber as he made a desperate plea late Thursday night in Ukraine. 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy telegraphed that things were rapidly changing. He said President Putin wouldn't take his phone call. Zelenskyy tried to appeal directly to the Russian people to stop the looming invasion. 

Just hours earlier, Newsy confirmed the United States had given the Ukrainian government detailed intelligence, indicating the long-feared invasion was imminent.  

Nearly 200,000 Russian troops were surrounding Ukraine on three sides, ready to pounce. 

But President Putin had already decided to act. He told Russia he ordered a military operation inside Ukraine.

Notably, he was wearing the same suit and tie as he was last seen in on Monday, perhaps indicating he had been waiting to begin the long-planned attack and that the invasion was just a matter of time, precisely as the United States and Western intelligence had been predicting. 

At about the same time in New York, the U.N. secretary-general opened an emergency meeting of the Security Council, begging Putin to call it off.

"President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. "Give peace a chance."

The Ukrainian ambassador then sparred with Russia's ambassador, ironically sitting as the U.N. Security Council president. 

"The Russian president declared war on the record," Ukrainian ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said. "Should I play the video of your president, ambassador? Shall I do that right now? Or you can confirm it? Do not interrupt me, please, thank you." 

Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian ambassador to the U.N., responded: "Then don't ask me questions. When you are speaking, proceed with your statement."

"There is no purgatory for war criminals," Kyslytsya said. "They go straight to hell, ambassador." 

At 6 a.m. Moscow time, the assault began. There were air strikes in Ukraine's biggest cities, targeting military posts and weapons warehouses, plus ports and airbases. And ground forces began moving in. 

Within minutes, President Biden released a written statement calling Russia's attack "unprovoked and unjustified."

He pledged the world would "hold Russia accountable."

"Russia has attacked Ukraine. This is a brutal act of war" "We now have war in Europe on the scale, and of a type, we thought belonged to history."

The widest, bloodiest, most significant battle in Europe since World War II was now underway with no clear end game in sight. 

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