Russia's foreign minister has confirmed what has been obvious over the last day or so: The Russian military has begun a new phase in its invasion of Ukraine, one aimed at conquering the eastern region of Donbas. "This operation in the east of Ukraine is aimed as it was announced from the very beginning to fully liberate the Donetsk and Luhansk republics," said Sergey Lavrov, per CNN. "Another stage of this operation is beginning and I'm sure this will be a very important moment of this entire special operation." He avoided use of the word "war," as the Kremlin demands.