MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry says Kiev, before Russia started its military operation, started preparations to send a military grouping in eastern Ukraine on an offensive, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Friday.

"Amid false statements about its aspirations for peace, Kiev began a large-scale artillery preparation for an offensive by a strike group of troops that it had amassed in the east of Ukraine, which would be supported by aviation and missile systems," he said.

The spokesman also showed the originals of the secret encrypted telegrams of the 4th brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, which were intercepted by Russian servicemen, such as the order of the commander of the National Guard of Ukraine, Colonel-General N. I. Balan dated January 22, 2022.

"The document is addressed to the heads of the Northern Kiev, Southern Odessa and Western territorial departments of the National Guard of Ukraine," Konashenkov said. "The order describes in detail the plan for preparing one of the strike groups for offensive operations in the zone of the so-called joint forces operation in Donbass."

According to the spokesman, the document shows that all the measures for achieving combat cohesion of the nationalists had to be completed by February 28, so that combat missions as part of the Ukrainian joint forces operation in Donbass could begin in March.

"Since February 2022, Ukrainian troops have increased the frequency shelling of Donbass with prohibited large-caliber artillery weapons," he said.