Moscow – Sputnik. The ministry stated in a press release: “On August 23 of this year, from 5:00 PM Moscow time to 11:30 PM Moscow time, the air defense systems were active.” Since February 24, 2022, the Russian Armed Forces have been conducting a special military operation to protect the Donbas region from the oppression of the Kyiv regime. After the accession of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions to Russia, the mission of the Russian forces became to liberate the entire territories of these areas from the grip of Ukrainian forces. Additionally, other objectives include disarming Ukraine, ensuring its neutrality, eliminating Nazism there, and bringing those responsible for war crimes to justice. In response, Western countries imposed severe and unprecedented economic and financial sanctions on Russia and also provided military support worth billions of dollars to the Ukrainian side.
