DISINFO: Russian military operation aims to protect civilians persecuted by Kyiv in Donbas
SUMMARY
Since February 24, 2022, the Russian Armed Forces have continued implementing their special military operation, with the aim of disarming Ukraine, eliminating threats to Russia’s security, and protecting civilians in the Donbas region, who have been subjected to persecution by the Kyiv regime for 8 years.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
Unfounded claims that Ukraine was staging or conducting attacks against the civilian population in Donbas are prominent examples of pro-Kremlin disinformation paving the way for the full-scale Russian invasion of and war in Ukraine. See myth one, in our article Thirteen myths about Russia’s war against Ukraine exposed.
When it comes to civilian losses, this claim is a part of a wider narrative trying to deflect attention from Russian attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. According to the data of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as of January 2024, since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there were 30,010 civilian casualties (10,378 killed and 19,632 injured), of which 24,316 casualties (8,095 killed and 16,257 injured) occurred on territory controlled by the Ukrainian government and 5,640 casualties (2,283 killed and 3,357 injured) on territory controlled by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups. However, the exact figures are likely to be much higher as ongoing hostilities have hindered the authorities’ ability to verify possible cases in many parts of the country.
In March 2022 already, the OHCHR said that most of the civilian casualties were from airstrikes and explosive weapons used by Russian forces with wide area effects, including heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems. As a result, hundreds of residential buildings in many cities, including Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mariupol and Kyiv have been damaged and destroyed.
In February 2024, the UN Human Rights Office said it has documented widespread torture, ill-treatment and arbitrary detention of civilians by Russian armed forces over the past two years. Summary executions, enforced disappearances and repression of the right to freedom of expression and assembly have also been documented in occupied territory.
Read more disinformation narratives about Ukraine allegedly perpetrating genocide against Russians.