Russia said Monday that it destroyed air defense systems in Ukraine over the weekend, while President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said thousands of Russian soldiers were massing for a new offensive.

A showdown looms in Ukraine after Russia appointed a new military commander and looked to concentrate its attacks in the east, while Ukraine’s president said his troops will hold their ground, urging Western leaders, in particular President Joe Biden, to do more.

Russian forces were pushing to establish control over the southern port city of Mariupol, the cornerstone between Russian-held areas to the west and east.

About a quarter of Ukraine's 44 million population have been forced from their homes, cities turned into rubble, and thousands of people have been killed or injured - many of them civilians.

Russia appointed Gen. Alexander Dvornikov, 60, one of Russia’s most experienced military officers and according to U.S. officials a general with a record of brutality against civilians in Syria and other war theaters.

Britain’s Defense Ministry said Monday that Ukraine has already beaten back several assaults by Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which make up the Donbas, resulting in the destruction of Russian tanks, vehicles and artillery.

Austrian leader Karl Nehammer planned to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday and will call for an end to the conflict. It would be Putin's first face-to-face meeting with a European Union leader since Russia's invasion started on Feb. 24.

About a quarter of Ukraine's 44 million population have been forced from their homes, cities turned into rubble, and thousands of people have been killed or injured - many of them civilians.

Mounting civilian casualties have triggered widespread international condemnation and new sanctions.
-Reuters/AP