Kremlin counts 'damage caused by Ukraine's forces' in Donbas: Ukraine responds sharply
Illustrative photo: Russia has presented Ukraine with multi-billion-dollar claims over the war in Donbas (Getty Images)
Head of Russia’s Investigative Committee Alexandr Bastrykin claimed that the alleged "damage caused by the Armed Forces of Ukraine" in Donbas and Russia’s border regions amounts to more than 706 billion rubles. This statement is yet another information manipulation by the Kremlin, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation (TsPD) under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.
Head of Russia’s Investigative Committee Alexandr Bastrykin said that Ukraine allegedly caused damage to Russia and the occupied territories totaling more than 706 billion rubles, equivalent to about $9 billion.
According to him, this concerns the consequences of actions by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donbas and Russia’s border regions.
"However, the key manipulation is the deliberate erasure of the causes of the war. Before 2014, Donbas was not a combat zone; there was no large-scale destruction or thousands of deaths. All of this appeared only after the start of Russia’s military intervention," the Center for Countering Disinformation (TsPD) noted.
In effect, the Kremlin is trying to create an alternative legal reality in which the aggressor allegedly becomes the victim. As Russian officials themselves admit, Moscow now wants to "document the damage allegedly inflicted by Ukraine" in order to use it for its own political purposes in the future.
"In Russia’s information space, the narrative is already being openly promoted that 'responsibility for the destruction should be borne by Ukrainian soldiers,' despite the fact that it was the Russian army that destroyed cities in Donbas, the Kharkiv region, and southern Ukraine," the TsPD emphasized.
War in Ukraine
The Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security and Defense has approved presidential decrees on another extension of martial law and general mobilization in Ukraine. This is already the 18th parliamentary vote on this issue since the start of the full-scale war.
The current decisions are set to expire on February 3, so the new extension is planned to last until May 4, 2026.
Earlier, on January 13, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted the relevant draft laws to the Verkhovna Rada (the parliament), providing for the extension of both regimes for another 90 days.
According to the documents, martial law and mobilization are to remain in effect from 5:30 a.m. Kyiv time on February 3, 2026, for the next three months.
Most recently, the Verkhovna Rada approved an extension of these regimes through February 3, 2026.
Previously, Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that martial law can be lifted only after Ukraine receives reliable security guarantees. According to him, without such guarantees, the war will not truly end, as the threat of renewed aggression by Russia would remain.
