MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/. Russia's special military operation will shortly establish peace in Ukraine as well as prevent a larger-scale conflict in Europe, Director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergey Naryshkin told the Russia-24 TV channel.

The SVR chief stressed that Moscow could not let Ukraine become a dagger in the hands of Washington lifted over Russia.

"Russia cannot allow Ukraine turn into a dagger in the hands of Washington brandished over us. Nowadays, the only path to this is the demilitarization, denazification and the neutral status of the Ukrainian state. The special military operation will shortly restore peace in Ukraine and will prevent a potentially larger-scale military conflict in Europe," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on Thursday morning 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.

Russia's Defense Ministry reported later on Thursday that Russian troops were not delivering strikes against Ukrainian cities. It emphasized that Ukrainian military infrastructure was being destroyed by precision weapons.