Russia begins another stage of its special military operation in Ukraine to liberate the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR respectively), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday, TASS reports.
"Another stage of this operation (in eastern Ukraine) is beginning and I am sure this will be a very important moment of this entire special operation," Lavrov said speaking in an interview with India Today television channel.
Russian troops act only against military infrastructure during the special operation in Ukraine and not against civilians, Lavrov said.
"Our army has only been targeting military infrastructure and not civilians. The Ukrainian army has been using civilians as human shields," he said.
The Russian top diplomat noted that Russia’s goals for the special operation were immediately stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, he noted, the West is ignoring Moscow’s arguments, "placing attention on false things" instead.
The foreign minister noted that as soon as Putin announced the beginning of the special military operation in response to a request by the heads of Donbass republics in full compliance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, he said that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine. According to Lavrov, these are two closely related problems of this country.
The Russian army is systematically implementing the plan for the liberation of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at the Defense Ministry’s board meeting on Tuesday.
"In the course of the special military operation the Russian army is coping with its tasks the supreme commander-in-chief identified. The plan for the liberation of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics is being implemented systematically and measures are being taken to restore life to normal," he said.
Shoigu stressed that the Russian military personnel involved in the operation displayed courage and heroism in performing their duty. He pointed out that Russia provided reliable guarantees of its citizens’ safety and that the events of the past few months demonstrated clearly the importance of further efforts to enhance the potential of the armed forces.
