Russia pours more troops into Ukraine and presses attack in the east

A damaged building after a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv (Felipe Dana/AP)

Russia assaulted cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front hundreds of miles long and poured more troops into Ukraine on Tuesday, in a potentially pivotal battle for control of the country’s eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

If successful, the Russian offensive in what is known as the Donbas would essentially slice Ukraine in two and give Russian president Vladimir Putin a badly needed victory after the failed attempt by Moscow’s forces to storm the capital, Kyiv, and heavier-than-expected casualties nearly two months into the war.