All the tasks for the day assigned to the Russian military during the special operation in Donbass were successfully completed. This was announced on Thursday, February 24, by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
"The groups of troops of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics broke through the well-equipped echeloned defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, advanced 6-8 km deep," said the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov.
According to him, the success of the operation to protect Donbass was made possible largely thanks to the coordinated fire support of domestic artillery and aviation. They ensured the exit of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to the city of Kherson and helped to return water supply to the Crimean peninsula.
As a result, on February 24, Russian troops managed to disable 83 ground objects of the military infrastructure of Ukraine, as well as shoot down two Su-27, two Su-24, one helicopter and four Bayraktar TB-2 attack unmanned aerial vehicles of the Armed forces of Ukraine.
On February 24, Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that in response to the appeal of the leaders of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), he decided to conduct an operation to protect Donbass. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow's plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories.
After that, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky accused Russia of hitting the country's military infrastructure and imposed martial law throughout the country. By order of Zelensky, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) will meet on February 24.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the army did not launch air missile or artillery strikes on Ukrainian cities. They stressed that nothing threatens the civilian population of the country. High-precision means of destruction disable military infrastructure: military airfields, aviation, air defense facilities of the armed forces of Ukraine.
On February 21, the heads of the DPR and LPR Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik appealed to Putin with a request to recognize the independence of the republics. The relevant decrees were signed in the evening of the same day. In the presence of the leaders of the republics, the President of the Russian Federation also signed treaties on friendship, cooperation and assistance.
Since 2014, the Ukrainian authorities have been conducting a military operation against the residents of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the conflict.
