MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/. Retreating nationalist units are damaging vital infrastructure facilities, in particular water and electricity supplies systems in Donbass, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Friday.

"I would like to stress that retreating nationalist units that were formed in the Lvov and Ivano-Frankovsk regions damage critical social and vital infrastructure facilities in Donbass. The biggest damage is being incurred to water and power supplies systems. These actions are geared to create a humanitarian catastrophe in Donbass," he 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.