News - Middle East: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin says he had no other choice than launching a military operation in Ukraine to stop the Ukrainian military’s interference in two eastern republics that have broken away from Ukraine.

"We had no other way of proceeding," Putin said during a televised meeting with business representatives on Thursday.

 "What was happening left us with no choice," he added.
Earlier in the day, the Russian head of state announced a "special military operation" aimed at “demilitarization” of the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics.

The regions broke away from Ukraine in 2014 after refusing to recognize a Western-backed Ukrainian government that had overthrown a democratically-elected Russia-friendly administration.

More than 14,000 people have been killed so far across the regions as a result of the conflict that ensued between the Ukrainian military and the pro-Russian separatists.

Announcing the operation, Putin said the mission was aimed at “defending people who for eight years are suffering persecution and genocide by the Kiev regime.”

Russia’s defense ministry has, meanwhile, asserted that the operation posed no threat to civilian lives in Ukraine, saying the Ukrainian government had started using staged videos to accuse Russian forces of conducting indiscriminate strikes against civilian targets.