12 апреля 2014 года с захвата городского отдела милиции Славянска началась война на Донбассе.

On April 12, 2014, the war in Donbass began with the capture of the city police department of Slavyansk.
gordonua.com/publications/Zavtra-byla-voyna-God-nazad-terroristy-nachali-zahvat-Slavyanska-75620.html

The reserve colonel of the FSB of the Russian Federation, Igor Girkin (Strelkov), who led the invasion, in an interview with the newspaper Zavtra, said that for the first two weeks no one wanted to fight and both sides wanted to convince each other. “The flywheel of the war, which is still going on, launched our detachment.” - he said.
zavtra.ru/blogs/kto-tyi-strelok

On March 4, 2014, Putin, when asked if they were Russian soldiers, replied that they were local self-defense forces.

Intercepted recordings of conversations prove that the separatists were following orders from Russia. It is indicative how Moscow political strategist Alexander Boroday forced accepting the text of the constitution sent by Vladislav Surkov, which contained errors. Surkov at that time held the position of Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation.

On March 15, 2015, Putin already said that under the guise of strengthening the security of facilities in Crimea, special forces of Main Intelligence Directorate and the military were transferred there.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLa2MOKFAVM

Then the Malaysian Airlines Boeing MH17 was shot down. A court in the Netherlands found Girkin, Dubinsky and Kharchenko guilty of the crash due to a hit from a Buk air defense missile brought from Russia.
ru.euronews.com/2022/11/17/netherlands-court-mh17-verdict-ppp

Russian authorities blamed Ukraine for this. “Dispatcher Carlos,” who allegedly worked at the Kiev airport and wrote that Ukrainian fighters were pursuing this plane, turned out to be a fraudster convicted in Spain. And his “work” was paid for by the Spanish branch of the RT propaganda TV channel.
www.rferl.org/a/catch-carlos-if-you-can-mh17-russia-ukraine/29065244.html

In July 2014, Channel One of Russian television showed a story about a “crucified boy” in order to accuse the Ukrainian army of abusing civilians. Local residents denied this and called the Ukrainian soldiers “guardian angels.”
www.stopfake.org/ru/lozh-raspyatie-v-efire-pervogo-kanala/

And one of the first things the Russian authorities did in captured Mariupol was to show propaganda on cars with special screens.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMn8Ooe6wlk

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, before the full-scale invasion began, the number of civilian deaths in Donbass was constantly decreasing.
www.dw.com/ru/zertvy-vojny-na-vostoke-ukrainy-infografika/a-51469181

Last year, ex-major of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian Federation Igor Salikov on the Gulagu.net channel told how the separatists themselves shelled the territory under their control to maintain a state of war.
youtu.be/GMpl2TPNqW8?si=xsLMd_DsprAnUA_K&t=5701

In 2013, Donbass enterprises provided about 15% of Ukraine's GDP. Now the self-proclaimed authorities are closing dozens of Donbass mines, with violations of technological standards. This leads to contamination of drinking water sources.
zona.media/article/2022/07/26/coal

Equipment from some factories was transported to Russian territory.
gordonua.com/news/society/Promyshlennost-Donbassa-Svobodnyy-polet-ili-svobodnoe-padenie-74032.html

Before the war, the average salary level in Donetsk was one of the highest in Ukraine. In 2019, salaries were already 4 times lower than pre-war.
www.radiosvoboda.org/a/29728846.html

Then propaganda promoted the thesis “Donbass was bombed for 8 years” and Putin started a big war, in which in just the first few months more civilians died than in the previous 8 years.
www.dw.com/ru/oon-v-ukraine-za-dva-goda-vojny-pogibli-bolee-10-tysac-mirnyh-zitelej/a-68346488

The well-being of people has never been Putin's goal. We urge you to be critical of pro-Russian messages regarding Ukraine: Russian propaganda is spread not only in Russian.