MOSCOW

Russia on Wednesday claimed to have secret documents showing Ukraine's “covert preparation” for an offensive this month in a breakaway region of the country with a sizeable ethnic Russian population.

The Russian Defense Ministry said this March, Ukraine had planned an offensive in Donbas, a region where Russian-backed separatists have fought to leave the country since 2014, and where the Donetsk and Luhansk enclaves were recognized as “independent” by Russia days before it launched the war on Ukraine.

The ministry published a photo of an alleged Jan. 22 order by Nikolai Balan, commander of the National Guard of Ukraine, addressed to the guard’s Kyiv, Odessa, and Western territorial heads telling them to prepare to "a special combat operation" in the separatist regions.

According to the document, the 4th division of the guard’s assault paratroopers, trained since 2016 by US and British instructors according to NATO standards, was to join forces with a Ukrainian armed forces assault paratrooper division by Feb. 28 in order to start "a joint forces operation" in Donbas.

The alleged document devotes five paragraphs to stressing proper selection of personnel for the operation, explaining the mission, and psychological motivation, including the use of "visual information and propaganda materials, flags, and printing products."

The alleged document bears the purported signatures of Ukraine's military chiefs responsible for launching the offensive.

The Ukrainian government has repeatedly denied any military plans to regain control of Donetsk and Luhansk, and claimed that Russia was preparing a pretext to send its troops into Ukraine. The US has made similar claims that Russia was planning a “false flag” operation to justify an invasion.

Russia insists it started what it calls a "special military operation" on Feb. 24 in Donbas to prevent an offensive by Ukrainian armed forces, claiming a “genocide” against ethnic Russians in Ukraine.

The Russia-Ukraine war has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow, and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia, including McDonald's and Starbucks over the last 24 hours.

At least 474 civilians have been killed and 864 others injured in Ukraine since Russia launched a war against its neighbor, according to UN figures, with the real toll feared to be higher.

More than 2.1 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the UN refugee agency.