At 6:00 AM on February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin appeared in an emergency televised broadcast to announce what he termed a “Special Military Operation.” Using a distorted interpretation of international law, he stated:
Circumstances require us to take decisive and immediate action. The People’s Republics of Donbas turned to Russia with a request for help… In this regard, in accordance with Article 51, Part 7 of the UN Charter, with the sanction of the Federation Council of Russia… I have decided to conduct a special military operation.
Putin’s speech was not just a declaration of war but an ultimatum to the Ukrainian military to “lay down their arms.” His objective was clear: a total seizure of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (nearly 70% of which was controlled by Ukraine at the time) as a precursor to the broader subjugation of the country.
Putin’s Calculus: Ratings and the “Blitzkrieg” Myth
Analysts and observers noted that this invasion was built on two primary delusions within the Kremlin.
First, Putin believed in a “Blitzkrieg” — a lightning war where the Ukrainian army would offer no serious resistance and the government would collapse within days.
Second, the war was seen as a tool for domestic politics; an attempt to artificially boost Putin’s ratings through a wave of “revanchism” and imperial nostalgia.
The Hybrid Prelude: Hacker Attacks and Fabricated Pretexts
The physical invasion was preceded by a massive cyber offensive. In the hours leading up to the first missile strikes, powerful viruses were launched against Ukrainian government infrastructure to paralyze communications.
Simultaneously, the Russian propaganda machine worked at full capacity to create a casus belli (justification for war). For a week, state channels like TV Zvezda aired fabricated reports:
- The “Border Post” Fraud: A video claimed a Ukrainian shell destroyed a Russian border post, which was later proven to be an old, abandoned shed.
- Staged Explosions: Investigative analysis showed that “shelling” videos from Donbas featured ground-level explosions with no incoming projectile sounds — obvious pyrotechnic setups.
- The “Shattered Peace” Lie: While Russian propaganda claimed Ukrainian aggression, the Ukrainian Armed Forces remained disciplined, refusing to return fire even when the town of Shchastya was shelled, specifically to deny Russia a “legitimate” excuse for war.
The Opening Salvo
Despite the talk of “liberating Donbas,” the strikes were nationwide. Missiles hit Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mariupol. An amphibious landing was launched in Odesa.
At the borders, Russian tank columns began their advance. In the chaos of the rush, some units showed signs of poor preparation — such as the widely reported footage of a Russian military vehicle crashing into a pole near the border in the early hours of the morning.
As the strikes began, UN Secretary-General António Guterres made a final, public plea:
President Putin, in the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia. In the name of humanity, do not allow to start in Europe what could be the worst war since the beginning of the century.
The Final Plea: President Zelenskyy’s Full Address to the Russian People
Just hours before the invasion, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a speech that was ignored by Russian state media but became a cornerstone of Ukrainian resistance.
“Today I initiated a telephone conversation with the President of the Russian Federation. The result was silence. Although there should be silence in the Donbas. Therefore, today I want to address all the citizens of Russia. Not as a President — I am addressing the Russian citizens as a citizen of Ukraine.
More than two thousand kilometers of common border divide us. Along it today stand your troops — nearly 200,000 soldiers, thousands of combat vehicles. Your leadership approved their step forward, onto the territory of another country. And this step could be the beginning of a great war on the European continent. The whole world is talking about what could happen any day now. A cause could arise at any moment. Any provocation, any spark — a spark that could burn everything.
You are told that this flame will bring liberation to the people of Ukraine. Но the Ukrainian people are free. They remember their past and they build their own future. They build, they do not destroy, as they tell you every day on television. Ukraine in your news and Ukraine in real life are two completely different countries. And the main difference is that ours is real.
You are told we are Nazis. But can a people who gave more than 8 million lives for the victory over Nazism support it? How can I be a Nazi? Tell that to my grandfather, who went through the whole war in the infantry of the Soviet Army and died a colonel in independent Ukraine. You are told that we hate Russian culture. How can anyone hate a culture? Any culture. Neighbors always enrich each other culturally. However, that does not make them a single whole; it does not dissolve us into you. We are different, but that is not a reason to be enemies. We want to determine and build our own history ourselves. Peacefully, calmly, honestly.
You were told I would order an attack on the Donbas, to shoot, to bomb. Without question. Though there are questions, and very simple ones: Shoot at whom? Bomb what? Donetsk, where I have been dozens of times? Where I saw the faces, the eyes? Artema Street, where I walked with friends? Donbas Arena, where I cheered with the locals for our Ukrainian boys at the Euro? Shcherbakov Park, where we drank together when our boys lost? Luhansk? The house where my best friend’s mother lives? The place where my best friend’s father is buried?
Notice that I am speaking now in Russian, but no one in Russia understands what these street names, these surnames, these events mean. This is all foreign and unfamiliar to you. But this is our land, this is our history. What will you be fighting for, and with whom?
Many of you have been to Ukraine. Many of you have relatives in Ukraine. Some studied in Ukrainian universities, made friends with Ukrainians. You know our character, you know our people, you know our principles. You know what we cherish. So listen to yourselves, to the voice of reason, to common sense. Hear us. The people of Ukraine want peace. The government of Ukraine wants peace. It wants it and it does it. It does everything it can.
We are not alone — that is true. Many countries support Ukraine in this. Why? Because it is not about peace at any price. It is about peace and the principles of justice, about international law. About the right to self-determination, the right to determine one’s own future. The right of every society to security and the right of every person to a life without threats. This is all important to us. This is all important for the world. I know for sure that it is important to you too.
We know for certain: we do not need war. Not a cold one, not a hot one, not a hybrid one. But if we are attacked by troops, if they try to take our country, our freedom, our lives, the lives of our children — we will defend ourselves. Not attack — defend. Attacking, you will see our faces. Not our backs — our faces.
War is a great misfortune. And this misfortune has a high price in every sense of the word. People lose money, reputation, standard of living, they lose freedom. Но most importantly, people lose their loved ones, they lose themselves. In war, there is always a lack of everything. What there is in abundance is pain, dirt, blood, and death. Thousands, tens of thousands of deaths.
You are told that Ukraine can pose a threat to Russia. This was not true in the past, it is not true now, and it will not be true in the future. You demand security guarantees from NATO. And we demand guarantees of our security — the security of Ukraine — from you, from Russia, and other guarantors of the Budapest Memorandum. Today we are outside any defense alliances. The security of Ukraine is linked to the security of our neighbors. Therefore, today we must talk about the security of all of Europe. But our main goal is peace in Ukraine and the security of our citizens, Ukrainians. For this, we are ready to talk about it with everyone, including you. In different formats, on any platforms.
War will deprive everyone of guarantees. No one will have security guarantees anymore. Who will suffer from this the most? People. Who wants this the least? People. Who can prevent this? People. Are there such people among you? I am sure. Public figures, journalists, musicians, actors, athletes, scientists, doctors, bloggers, stand-up comedians, TikTokers, and many others. Ordinary people. Ordinary, simple people. Men, women, the elderly, children, fathers and, most importantly, mothers. Just like the people in Ukraine. Just like the government in Ukraine. No matter how much they try to convince you otherwise.
I know that this address of mine will not be shown on Russian television. But the citizens of Russia must see it. They must know the truth. And the truth is that you need to stop before it is too late. If the leadership of Russia does not want to sit down at the table with us for the sake of peace, perhaps it will sit down at the table with you.
Do Russians want war? I would very much like to answer this question. But the answer depends only on you, citizens of the Russian Federation. Thank you for your attention.”
This article is based on source material from Michael Nacke’s video covering the outbreak of the war →
