An advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and executive secretary of the organizing committee of the Eastern Economic Forum Anton Kobyakov, offered another justification for the start of the full‑scale war. He said Ukraine planned to invade Russia on March 8, 2022, prompting Moscow to pre‑empt the move and strike first.
Kobyakov made this statement in an interview with the Russian propaganda agency TASS, as reported by The Moscow Times. He claimed Russian troops discovered documents in an abandoned headquarters of a Ukrainian territorial‑defence brigade at the outset of the invasion, which allegedly showed Kyiv preparing an attack on Russia for March 8, 2022.
“We pre‑empted them by two weeks,” Kobyakov said, noting that Russia began the full‑scale invasion on February 24. He also asserted that Kyiv intended to “present the war as a gift” for “Women’s Day,” and that Russia struck first “thanks to the foresight of the Russian leadership.”
Statements about the “gift” and World War II
The Russian official linked his remarks to World II events. Anton Kobyakov said: “As the president previously said, June 22 will never repeat in our history,” referring to June 22, 1941—the day Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union.
He repeated earlier Russian accusations that the West “posed as supporters of the Minsk agreements” while actually “preparing Ukraine for war.” According to Kobyakov, the West sought to arm Kyiv and push it toward a military solution of the “conflict in Donbas”—the term Russia uses for the occupation of Ukrainian territories.
Justifications for the Russian invasion
Russia began its aggression against Ukraine in 2014, annexing Ukrainian Crimea and seizing part of the Donbas. In 2022, the Russian Federation launched a full‑scale invasion, striking settlements across Ukraine with rockets and aircraft.
At the start of the invasion, Russian propaganda spread claims that “Russia will take Kyiv in three days.” Russian troops advancing on the capital reportedly carried parade uniforms, expecting a swift capture. However, by the end of summer 2026, Russian forces had not reached the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Since the war began, Russian authorities have repeatedly offered various justifications, including alleged NATO plans to attack Russia, fabricated stories about “biolaboratories” in Ukraine, and even claims of “combat mosquitoes” and a “dirty bomb.” In 2023, Russia also released a revised history textbook presenting a distorted account of the war against Ukraine.
Джерело: Ukrainska Pravda
