Quote Originally Posted by GenosseGeneral View Post
According to Ukrainian MoD the separatists have begun a fully fledged attack on all fronts today, which began with a massive bombardment of Mariupol. There had been certain indicators for this the week before, most notably the Ukrainian army loosing Donetsk ariport meanwhile separatist leader Sakharchenko declared that "the DNR will free the whole Donetsk Oblast'".
Moreover, Zakharchenko announced that their next target is Mariupol and the same time renounced responsibility for the shelling.
Some experts say that the all-out offensive is crawling on on all fronts rather than a series of heavy strokes. So the real purpose of it is not military so much, but provoking panic and protests within Ukraine to change the current government and (as the best outcome for Russia) a new Maidan which will ultimately break the country. Putin's need for speed is explained by the harm that comes from sanctions and consequently his desire to patch up the conflict with Ukraine's (if it still exists) new more lenient government which is to replace the current one before March to get the sanctions cancelled.