Ukraine was Preparing to Launch Operation in Donbass in March: Russian MoD

The Russian Ministry of Defense has claimed that it received secret documents “confirming” a military operation that Ukraine was planning to conduct in Donbass in March.

"Secret documents of the National Guard of Ukraine came into the possession of Russian servicemen. These documents confirm the covert preparation by the Kyiv regime of an offensive operation in Donbas in March 2022," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying by Interfax at a briefing on Wednesday.

He added that the secret order dated 22 January 2022 was given by the commander of the National Guard of Ukraine, Colonel-General Mykola Balan. “It refers to organizing the training of a battalion tactical group of the 4th operational brigade to perform combat (special) tasks in the joint forces operation as part of a brigade of the armed forces of Ukraine," Konashenkov said.

He said the Russian forces “thwarted” Ukraine’s “large-scale offensive” in Lugansk and Donetsk.

The order, he claimed, was addressed to the heads of the northern Kiev, southern Odessa and western territorial departments of the National Guard of Ukraine. “It describes in detail the plan for preparing one of the shock groups for offensive operations in the zone of the so-called ‘operation of the combined forces’ in the Donbass.”

Konashenkov further said, “Only one question remains to be clarified: how deeply the U.S. leadership and its NATO allies were involved in the planning and preparation of the operation to storm the Donbass by the Ukrainian inter-service grouping of troops in early March. All those who care so much about peace in Ukraine today.”