The embankment of the Nizhnekalmius reservoir in Donetsk. Archival photoMOSCOW, Feb. 26 5 near the center of Donetsk, information about the victims is being specified.The third day of the operation: the LPR and DPR are advancing, Kyiv refused to negotiateRussian President Vladimir Putin on February 21 signed decrees on recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, which declared their independence from Kyiv back in 2014, and early in the morning of February 24, Russia launched a military operation to demilitarize Ukraine. In a televised address to fellow citizens, Putin said that circumstances “require decisive and immediate action,” as the Donbass republics asked for help. According to the Russian leader, the entire responsibility for the bloodshed will be on the conscience of the ruling regime in Ukraine. Later, the Russian Defense Ministry emphasized that the Russian Armed Forces do not inflict any strikes on the cities of Ukraine: military infrastructure is disabled by high-precision means. The civilian population, according to the department, is not in danger. The Ministry of Defense added that the Ukrainian border guards «do not offer any resistance», in some cases the Ukrainian military surrenders and after that they have the opportunity to return to their families.Situation development — in the online report >> «/wp-content/uploads/e577dc1984ab043c311984be70989517.jpg» />In the city of Rovenki in the LPR, an explosion occurred at an oil depotPosted by: Igor Tonoyan