TSAMTO, February 24. The official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov, held a briefing on the progress of a special military operation to protect the DPR and LPR.
The report of I. Konashenkov is given below in the presentation of the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
"In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, on February 24, the Russian Armed Forces launched a special military operation to protect the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.
In the morning, the People's militia of the DPR and LPR, after prolonged fighting to repel the aggression of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the territory of the republics, mobilized and created groups of troops. Currently, they have launched a counteroffensive with the fire support of the Russian Armed Forces. They have broken through the leading edge of the echeloned, well-equipped engineering defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The grouping of troops of the Donetsk People's Republic, advancing on Volnovakha, advanced up to three kilometers, and the grouping of the Luhansk People's Republic, advancing in the direction of the settlement of Happiness, forced the Seversky Donets and advanced one and a half kilometers. Now the groups of the DPR and LPR troops are fighting and inflicting fire damage to the enemy.
AFU units continue shelling peaceful cities of Donbass. There are victims among the civilian population of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation do not carry out any missile, aviation or artillery strikes on the cities of Ukraine.
The servicemen of the Border Guard Service of Ukraine did not resist the Russian units.
Intelligence data show that individual units and military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are leaving their positions en masse, abandoning weapons. The positions of the AFU units that have laid down their weapons are not subject to strikes.
High-precision weapons of the Russian armed forces disable only military infrastructure, air defense facilities, military airfields, aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
We draw the attention of the media to the fact that the Security Service of Ukraine is preparing and already implementing provocations according to the well-known patterns of the "White Helmets".
Staged video filming with alleged "mass casualties" among the civilian population of Ukraine has been carried out in Ukrainian cities. Prepared videos are distributed through controlled telegram channels and social networks.
Their goal is to accuse Russia of allegedly not selectivity and disproportionality of strikes to intimidate civilians and broadcast on Western TV channels.
I would like to emphasize that the Russian Armed Forces do not strike at the cities of Ukraine. Nothing threatens the civilian population."