LIVE UPDATES: Berlin's Attempt to Quit Russian Gas Will Result in Major Crisis, Moscow Says

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine in February after the people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR) appealed for help to defend themselves against Ukrainian forces. Moscow stressed that the goal of the op is the liberation of Donbass, which has been suffering from the eight-year-long war being waged by Kiev.