The SSU obtained conversations between militants of the so-called L/DNR, which in February 2022 started to escalate situation in Donbass. The released recordings demonstrate that terrorists and residents of the temporarily occupied territories:

• admit to each other that they themselves organize provocations and shell civilians;
• discuss the buildup of Russian troops, including the involvement of Chechens from Kadyrov regiment;
• are surprised that the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not respond to militants’ provocative shelling;
• mention that the militants themselves shelled ‘a cabin in Russia’ (earlier, the FSB called this incident ‘a shelling of the Russian border facility in Rostov region’);
• confirm that their shells hit Luhansk thermal power plant (leaving the town of Shchastya without electricity, water and heat supply), etc.

These conversations were obtained in the course of counterintelligence efforts of the SSU aimed at repelling and deterring Russian armed aggression in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The files were declassified and released with the permission of the SSU investigators to show who is really responsible for aggravating the situation in Eastern Ukraine.

The SSU Office in Donetsk and Luhansk regions carried out the activities to document and expose the illegal armed formations.