MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/. Russia’s special military operation will end once threats related to NATO's colonization of Ukraine are eliminated, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's second CIS department Alexey Polishchuk said in an interview with TASS.

"The special military operation will end once its tasks are fulfilled. Among them are the protection of the peaceful population of Donbass, demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, as well as the elimination of threats to Russia coming from the Ukrainian territory due to its colonization by NATO members," the diplomat said.

The special operation is running as planned, he added. "All its goals will be reached," Polishchuk stressed.

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. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories and the goal was to demilitarize and denazify the country.