{{See also|2022 Special Military Operation in Ukraine - Donbas cauldron}}
[[File:Number-of-Explosions-in-Donbass-19-20-February-2022.jpg|right|300px|thumb]]
In early February 2022 Russia accused Ukraine's military of committing "crimes against residents of the eastern Donbas region" in a report filed with the [[United Nations]].<ref>https://theweek.com/russia/1010313/russia-in-report-to-un-again-accuses-ukraine-of-genocide-amid-shelling-in-donbas</ref> The Russian news outlet ''Sputnik'' reported that the [[Russian Investigative Committee ]] opened a criminal investigation after the discovery of mass graves of civilians in Donbass. "The remains of at least 295 civilians who died as a result of indiscriminate shelling by Ukrainian armed forces in 2014 were exhumed from them. It is already known that among the remains there are bodies of women of different ages," a statement from the committee said.<ref>https://sputniknews.com/20220216/russia-opens-criminal-case-after-discovery-of-mass-graves-of-civilians-in-donbass-1093089542.html</ref>
Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] called the events in Donbass a "[[genocide]],"<ref>https://www.marketwatch.com/story/russian-documents-level-genocide-allegation-against-ukraine-in-eastern-donbas-region-11645114453</ref> saying that the Ukrainian government continues to violate [[human rights]], including by legalizing the [[discrimination]] of the Russian-speaking population in the country. On January 16, 2022 ''Tass'' reported that Ukraine mandated all print media are to switch to the Ukrainian language.<ref>https://tass.com/world/1388729</ref>