Documents discovered by the Russian military in the course of its operation in Ukraine show that concrete plans existed to carry out strikes against Russia from Ukrainian territory, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, has said.
"It is obvious right now that we are having a proxy war with NATO, so NATO is waging proxy war with Russia, not vice versa. This is the reality that we face," Polyansky said, speaking to Sky News on Monday.
"Documents that we discovered at the beginning of our special military operation indicate with all clarity that there were concrete plans to strike on Russia from Ukraine. There were also concrete plans to strike on Donbass and the documents of [the] Ukrain[ian] General Staff indicate this. So, this was kind of a preemptive strike from Russia and we did it with the full conformity of Article 5 of the UN charter and we notified the UN about it," the diplomat said.
Polyansky's remarks echoed comments made by Vladimir Putin earlier in the day, when the Russian president said that Moscow's decision to launch its "demilitarization" and "denazification" operation in Ukraine was justified by the threat the country faced.
"We saw how the military infrastructure was unfolding, how hundreds of foreign advisers had begun to work there, with the most modern weapons being regularly delivered from NATO countries. The danger was growing every day. Russia offered a preemptive rebuff to the aggression - this was a forced, timely move and the only correct decision, one taken by a strong and independent country," Putin said.
UK Secretary of Defence Ben Wallace dismissed Putin's assertions, insisting that the UK and NATO never had any plans to attack Russia. "I think he is believing what he wants to believe - a slight shine of desperation. But let me put on the record categorically: NATO, Britain, Eastern Europe is not planning to invade Russia and never has done," Wallace said.
The Russian military publicized documents in March which it said confirmed Kiev's preparations for a large-scale offensive operation in the Donbass scheduled for the same month. The documents included an order by National Guard of Ukraine commander Mykola Balan dated 22 January 2022 describing plans for an offensive in detail.
Russia and its Donbass allies began a military operation in Ukraine on 24 February, with President Putin stating its aims to include "denazification" and "demilitarization" of the country. The operation kicked off after months of escalating tensions between Moscow and NATO, and weeks of growing violence in the Donbass in the form of artillery and mortar shelling, sniper and sabotage attacks by Ukrainian forces against Donetsk and Lugansk People's Militia units and civilians.