[ti:Ukraine Says Russia Started Large Attack on Donbas Region] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Ukraine says Russia sent thousands of new soldiers [00:03.88]into its eastern Donbas region on Tuesday. [00:08.40]Regional leaders say they are trying [00:11.40]to evacuate civilians and hold on to key cities. [00:16.72]In a video speech Monday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy [00:22.40]said Russia has been preparing to take over the region "for a long time." [00:29.64]Zelenskyy continued, saying a large part of the Russian army [00:34.84]is centering its efforts on an attack in the region. [00:39.20]The Donbas includes two provinces, [00:43.16]Luhansk and Donetsk along with the coastal city of Mariupol. [00:50.16]If Russia takes over control of the region, [00:54.04]it will connect Russia with the Crimean Peninsula, an area it took in 2014. [01:01.72]Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, [01:06.12]confirmed "another stage of this operation is beginning." [01:10.88]Defense minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia's plan [01:15.52]is to "liberate" the provinces in the border area. [01:20.24]In Mariupol, Russian soldiers told the last Ukrainian fighters [01:26.80]remaining in the area to give up their fight or be killed. [01:32.36]Zelenskyy, however, said his nation's soldiers will keep fighting. [01:38.28]"We will defend ourselves," he said. [01:42.44]In addition to the fighting in the east, [01:45.44]Ukrainian regional governor Maksym Kozytskyy said [01:50.44]three missiles hit military targets in the western city of Lviv. [01:56.44]Another missile, he said, hit a car repair shop. [02:00.96]Lviv is only 60 kilometers from Poland and has not been hit as hard [02:07.64]as other parts of Ukraine in the war, which started in late February. [02:14.68]Lviv is an important target [02:17.16]as it is one of Ukraine's main transportation centers. [02:22.00]Western nations are sending aid into Ukraine through the city. [02:27.76]In a recent call, Russian president Vladimir Putin [02:31.56]said economic restrictions put in place by Western nations have failed. [02:37.96]Putin said "the strategy of economic blitz" has not worked. [02:44.64]Western officials, however, said the restrictions on business with Russia, [02:50.44]known as sanctions, have deeply hurt the economy. [02:56.08]United States President Joe Biden spoke with allies Tuesday [03:01.04]to discuss what the White House called "continued support for Ukraine [03:06.76]and efforts to hold Russia accountable" for the war. [03:11.40]Nearly 25 percent of Ukraine's 44 million residents [03:16.60]have been forced from their homes due to the fighting. [03:20.52]I'm Dan Friedell. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM