LUGANSK, February 24. /TASS/. Civilians living in the Kiev-controlled areas of the Lugansk region are in no danger but still have to observe safety measures, head of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) Leonid Pasechnik said in a video address on Thursday.

"There is no danger to civilians living in the territory that is currently controlled by the Ukrainian authorities. However, I urge them to continue to observe safety measures because the Kiev regime and its armed units can do anything. These people are capable of many things, as we have seen in the past eight years when we remained actually in full isolation and under a blockade, regularly coming under fire. This is why we know what they are worth," Pasechnik noted.

According to him, LPR forces are conducting pinpoint strikes on areas where weapons and military equipment are stationed.

LPR Militia Spokesman Ivan Filiponenko said earlier on Thursday that the militia had launched an operation to liberate the temporarily occupied areas of the republic, targeting only military facilities and the places where the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ troops and equipment were deployed.

On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics amid a serious rise in tensions. The treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance were signed with their leaders.

On Thursday morning, Putin said in a televised address 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 the 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 to occupy Ukrainian territories.

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported later that the Russian Armed Forces were not delivering strikes against Ukrainian cities. The ministry emphasized that the Ukrainian military infrastructure was being destroyed by precision weapons and there was no threat to civilians.