By Daniel DePetris
In the early morning hours of Feb. 24, in a hastily arranged address, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a final verdict on what was a months-long saga over Ukraine: yes, an invasion will happen after all. Putin, dressed in what looked like the same dark suit he donned a day earlier, described his order as a "special military operation" to demilitarize what he labeled an extreme right-wing government in Kyiv that posed a national security threat to the Russian state. Ukraine's ambassador to the U.N. was apoplectic at Putin's version of events as he left an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting in New York.
Despite the exhortations and patriotic sentiment pouring out of Ukrainian defense officials and politicians, the first 24 hours of the Russian operation has gone according to Moscow's plan. By the Pentagon's own estimates, the opening phase of the war included 75 Russian combat aircraft and an avalanche of 160 ballistic and cruise missiles raining down on select Ukrainian military targets throughout the country. Airfields, ammunition depots, warehouses and barracks were destroyed, while Russian paratroopers took control of Gostomel airport, located about 24 miles northwest of Kyiv. Ukrainian civilians in the city of Kharkiv, meanwhile, packed up their bags and went to the subway station to escape the bombardment. U.S. officials told Newsweek that the Ukrainian capital could be captured by Russian forces within days.
This piece was originally published in Newsweek on February 25, 2022. Read more HERE.