Airplane on the runway. Archival photoDONETSK, May 27. The DPR plans to restore the airports of Donetsk and Mariupol, but first it is necessary to ensure flight safety, the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin said in an interview with RIA Novosti. airports will be needed. Yes, they are definitely needed,» he said, answering the question whether the airport in Mariupol would be restored. According to Pushilin, «this is probably also due to the end of hostilities in full.» «It is probably problematic to name the exact date for the time being, given that the main task for us is to reach the constitutional borders … And everything will, of course, be connected with the safety of the flight of aircraft, helicopters, and so on,» the head of the DPR said. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on 24 February. 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.
