Ukrainian troops. Archival photoDONETSK, May 18. About 15,000 household subscribers were left without electricity in the Kirovsky district of Donetsk, the headquarters of the territorial defense of the DPR said. Over 15,000 household subscribers were left without power supply,» the ministry's Telegram channel said in a statement. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and , on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
