Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said Monday that Russian forces tried to start an active phase of the offensive in eastern Ukraine, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.

On Monday morning, along almost the entire front line in Donetsk, Lugansk and Kharkiv regions, Russian forces attempted to break through Ukrainian defenses, according to Danilov.

Russian forces managed to make advances only in two small towns, Danilov said, stressing that the Ukrainian military is holding their grounds elsewhere in eastern Ukraine.