No, it was UkroNazis bombing, sniping, shelling and generally slaughtering Russian civilians in the Donbas as part of Yatsenyuk's "Anti Terror Operation".

Secondly, I do not for one moment believe these propaganda stories of Russians raping and killing. Those things are patently absurd. Especially since the Russians regard those civilians as FELLOW RUSSIANS - as they have officially been since September 2022.

As far as lying is concerned, the Russians are not lying nearly so much as the Ukrainians.

Thirdly, there is ample proof that Ukraine is a Nazi regime and has been at least since 2004. The Banderite diaspora has made sure of that.

I have written about this.

As far as WHY Putin is doing this, I have explained this already in detail.