BEIJING, February 24. /TASS/. Russia is capable of coping with the situation in Ukraine on its own and does not need China's military support, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Thursday.

"Russia is a great power with might. It does not need the support of China or other countries," she said at a briefing, answering a corresponding question from a Western journalist.

The Chinese diplomat noted that Beijing’s position on this issue differs from the views of the American leadership. "We will not act as the United States acts, which supplies Ukraine with a large number of weapons," she stated.

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.

When clarifying the developments unfolding, 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.