MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/. Ukrainian extremists are conducting an ethnic cleansing crusade, while spreading information about the establishment of camps for dissidents and foreigners, the humanitarian response coordinating headquarters within Russia’s National Defense Management Center said on Sunday.
"With an aim of demoralizing civilians and foreigners, Ukrainian mass media disseminate publications that Kiev is establishing camps for people who do nor support the current regime and for those who are not Ukrainian citizens. Radicals are conducting ethnic cleansing. They break into people’s apartments and houses, check documents on the streets. Those who doesn’t have Ukrainian passports are taken in an unknown direction," it said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.
When clarifying the unfolding developments, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.