The 2021-2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis is an ongoing military standoff between the armed forces of Russia and Ukraine along the Russo-Ukrainian border which began on 3 March 2021 after Russia massed troops along the Ukrainian border in response to the NATO Defender-Europe 21 military exercise. From March to April 2021, President Vladimir Putin sent 85,000 Russian Army troops to the Ukrainian border, but they were withdrawn at the end of April due to diplomatic pressure from the West. However, starting in late October 2021, 100,000 Russian troops were deployed to the Ukrainian border, sparking a second round of the crisis which drew Russia and Ukraine closer to war, with Western intelligence agencies revealing Russian plots to stage a false flag incident in either Transnistria or Donbass to justify an invasion of Ukraine, and to overthrow Volodymyr Zelensky's pro-Western government and replace it with a pro-Russian government run by former Party of Regions loyalists. By January 2022, most Western leaders and intelligence agencies predicted that a Russian invasion was imminent, with America and Britain following Russia in withdrawing several diplomats from their embassies in Kyiv, and the United States, Britain, the Baltic states, and other NATO allies sending weapons to the Ukrainian Army ahead of an anticipated Russian assault. On 24 February 2021, in response to a request for military assistance from the DPR and LPR, Vladimir Putin ordered an all-out invasion of Ukraine, and the crisis turned into war.
History[]
Military buildup[]
On 3 March 2021, NATO held its massive "Defender-Europe 21" military exercise in 30 locations in Central and Eastern Europe, included seven planned exercises in Ukraine, leading to heightened tensions with Russia, which had previously occupied and annexed Crimea in 2014 and aided the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic in breaking away from Ukraine in the aftermath of the Euromaidan revolution. Starting in late March 2021 and continuing into early April, the Russian Army moved large quantities of arms and equipment from western and central Russia into occupied Crimea and into the Voronezh and Rostov Oblasts on Russia, with 14 military units from the Central Military District being moved unannounced towards the Ukrainian border, the largest unannounced redeployment since the 2014 Crimean Crisis. Russia stationed 28 battalion tactical groups along the border, followed by 25 more that were to be brought in, including in Bryansk and Voronezh Oblasts in the Western Military District. By April 2021, 85,000 Russian soldiers were either in Crimea or within 25 miles of the Ukrainian border. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine responded by urging NATO members to speed up Ukraine's request for membership, while Russian official Dmitry Kozak warned that Russian forces could act to "defend" Russian citizens in Ukraine and mark "the beginning of the end of Ukraine". Diplomatic pressure from the West led to the gradual withdrawal of Russian troops, although, from September to November, the 1st Guards Tank Army had been redeployed to the region. By 13 November, 100,000 Russian troops had been sent to the Ukrainian border in a show of force and in preparation for a possible invasion of Ukraine. On 23 November, Ukraine warned of the combat preparedness of pro-Russian separatist forces as they called up their reserves in eastern Ukraine, and, a day later, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warned Russia that any attack on Ukraine would be a "grave mistake" and that Britain was working closely with its NATO allies to provide support to Ukraine. On 26 November, President Zelensky accused Russia of plotting a coup against him and said that Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov was being enlisted for any move; he also warned that Ukraine was "prepared for any scenario" as tensions rose. A day later, Ukraine's military intelligence stated that Moscow was preparing for an attack in early 2022, which Russia dismissed as "malicious propaganda". On 29 November, Turkey offered to mediate between Ukraine and Russia over the conflict between the two nations.
Escalation[]
On 7 December, Ukraine's Defense Ministry announced that Russia was sending additional sniper teams and tanks to the front lines, continuing to escalate tensions. That same day, Biden met with Putin in a virtual summit, and, a day later, Biden announced that he had delivered serious warnings to Putin, threatening economic consequences like none before if Putin invaded Ukraine. However, he said that putting American troops on the ground in Ukraine to deter a potential Russian invasion was "not on the table". On 9 December, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg rejected Russia's demands for NATO to deny Ukraine entry. On 17 December 2021, Russia demanded that NATO end all military activity in Eastern Europe and never admit Ukraine as a member, demanding a legally binding guarantee to halt NATO expansion. Russia also demanded the removal of US nuclear weapons from Europe and the withdrawal of multinational NATO battalions from Poland and the Baltics, but, at the same time, a Biden administration official said that the United States was prepared to discuss Russia's proposal with its allies, even as the official reiterated that there were some things in those documents that the Russians knew would be unacceptable. On 18 December, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told Spectator magazine that Britain and its allies were highly unlikely to send troops to Ukraine if Russia invaded, as Ukraine was not a member of NATO, and severe economic decisions were the most likely form of deterrent to a Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 25 December 2021, it was reported that 10,000 Russian troops returned to their "permanent deployment points" from field training on the Ukrainian border, although they would continue to serve on combat watch. On 10 January 2022, the Ukrainian government arrested an alleged Russian intelligence agent in Odessa before he could recruit others to conduct attacks in the city.
Invasion fears[]
On 12 January 2022, NATO talks with Russia over Ukraine ended without resolution, and Stoltenberg warned that there was a real risk of a new armed conflict in Europe if NATO allies unanimously rejected the Kremlin's demands for a guarantee that Ukraine would never be admitted to the alliance. Stoltenberg also warned that NATO was ready to send troop reinforcements to Eastern Europe if Russia invaded Ukraine. At a 13 January OSCE meeting, Poland's foreign minister Zbigniew Rau warned that Europe was nearer to war than it had been in 30 years. Later that same day, Russian diplomat Sergei Ryabkov told Russian television that he could neither confirm nor exclude sending military assets to Cuba and Venezuela if talks with the United States failed, while the US representative to the OSCE warned that the "drumbeat of war" was sounding loud. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the OSCE talks had consolidated international support for Ukraine in the face of ultimatums and military pressure from Russia. On 14 January, up to 70 Ukrainian governments were hit by cyberattacks, and, that same day, a US Department of Defense official told CNN that President Biden had been advised to prepare for war as the US acquired intelligence that Putin was planning a "false flag" operation to justify an imminent invasion of Ukraine.
On 17 January 2022, Canada deployed a small special forces contingent to Ukraine as part of NATO's response to deter Russian aggression; the force was also tasked with evacuating Canadian diplomatic staff from Kyiv in the case of a full invasion. That same day, the United Kingdom began supplying anti-tank guided missiles to Ukraine, as well as deploying a small number of British military personnel to help train Ukrainian troops. On 18 January, Russia was reported to have sent an unspecified number of troops to Belarus, ostensibly for war games scheduled for 10 February. However, Ukrainian and American officials theorized that Russian troops were sent to Belarus in order to be closer to Kyiv ahead of an invasion. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine "at any point", and, on 19 January 2022, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with President Zelensky in Kyiv in a fresh diplomatic push. Blinken urged Russia to take a "diplomatic and peaceful path", even as Russia gradually withdrew its diplomats from Ukraine, perhaps to indicate their increasing readiness to invade. On 20 January, the US State Department authorized the delivery of US-made anti-tank and anti-aircraft guided missiles from the Baltic states to Ukrainie to deter Russian aggression, while Britain continued to deliver thousands of LAW anti-tank missiles to the Ukrainian military.
Attendees of a Ukraine solidarity rally at the Ukrainian embassy in London posing with the ambassador to the United Kingdom, Vadym Prystaiko
On 22 January 2022, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office stated that the Russian government was planning to install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv to minimize a long, drawn-out war; the United States was also aware of the Russian plot from the same source. British intelligence stated that Russia considered Yevheniy Murayev as a potential candidate, but Murayev told CNN that there was "nothing to comment on", as he was a Ukrainian national and still faced Russian sanctions. Britain also claimed that Russian intelligence services maintained links with numerous former Ukrainian politicians, including Serhiy Arbuzov (First Deputy Prime Minister from 2012 to 2014 and acting Prime Minister in 2014), Andriy Klyuyev (First Deputy Prime Minister from 2010 to 2012 and Chief of Staff to President Viktor Yanukovych), Vladimir Sivkovich (former Deputy Head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council), and Mykola Azarov (Prime Minister from 2010 to 2014). The United States Department of the Treasury also rolled out sanctions against Taras Kozak, Volodymyr Oliynyk, Vladimir Sivkovich, and Oleg Voloshyn for being involved in Kremlin-directed influence activities to destabilize Ukraine; they acted under the direction of a Russian intelligence service sanctioned by the US and played various roles in Russia's global influence campaign to destabilize sovereign countries in support of the Kremlin's political objectives. At the same time, the United States began to evacuate its diplomatic personnel from Kyiv due to concerns about a Russian invasion. German Navy Vice-Admiral and Inspector Kay-Achim Schoenbach resigned that same day after telling a think tank in New Delhi that Russia's intention to attack Ukraine was "nonsense", said that Putin "deserves respect", and dismissed Ukraine's prospects of regaining Crimea and rejoining NATO. On 26 January 2022, Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected Russia's demand to bar Ukraine from NATO, while Britain threatened to send hundreds more troops to Eastern Europe; NATO allies mulled the possibility of setting up 1,000-strong battlegroups in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia.
On 27 January 2022, President of the United States Joe Biden warned President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky that the Russians could invade Ukraine in February. However, this analysis was disputed by the Ukrainian government, leading to a tense phone call; Ukraine had earlier appealed for calm from the Americans and British as they evacuated their diplomatic staff ahead of a potential invasion. By 28 January 2022, 8,500 US troops were put on high alert to deploy to Eastern Europe, while Russia also redeployed troops and heavy equipment from its Eastern Military District to Belarus for February's military exercises. Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary accepted NATO deployments on their soil, while Russia continued to claim that it did not plan to invade Ukraine. That same day, President Alexander Lukashenko warned that Belarus would go to war if Belarus or Russia was attacked, insisting that his country did not want to go to war with Ukraine. On 29 January 2022, France announced that it would deploy several hundred troops to Romania to bolster NATO's eastern flank amid tensions with Russia.
On 2 February 2022, President Biden ordered an additional 3,000 troops to be deployed to Eastern Europe to support the defense of America's NATO allies, with 2,000 troops being deployed to Poland and Germany and 1,000 to Romania. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby clarified that these troops would not be sent to fight in Ukraine, but that they were deployed to bolster the USA's European allies. At the same time, Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a diplomatic visit to Kyiv (ignoring a phone call from Vladimir Putin in the process), Sweden announced that it would give Ukraine an extra $5.4 million of aid over three years to support the nation's development and to strengthen its resilience, more than 100 prominent Russian activists and academics signed an open letter decrying the "party of war" in Russia's government, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and President Zelensky stated their prioritization of de-escalation in Ukraine. That same day, a video showed Belarusian and Russian Eastern Military District soldiers conducting military drills and "combat cohesions" was released, and Jens Stoltenberg estimated that 30,000 Russian troops were present in Belarus, backed by weaponry.
On 3 February 2022, Belarus claimed that a Ukrainian drone was discovered spying on the Bretsky military training area, and the Belarursian military forced the aircraft to land. The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Ukrainian ambassador in response to the incident, which Belarus claimed marked an attempt at escalation. That same day, Russian-led forces used UAVs to attack the Hnutove checkpoint along a humanitarian road corridor, and the US embassy in Kyiv called on Russia to fully comply with the ceasefire in Donbass. Additionally, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby claimed that Russia was planning to create a graphic video depicting a fake Ukrainian attack which would include corpses, paid actors posing as mourners, and images of destroyed locations and military equipment; he also stated that Russian intelligence agents were deeply involved in the preparations for a "false flag", and that the actors might already have been hired. The USA's revelation of Russia's plan was meant to dissuade Russia from moving forward with it, or to make it difficult for Russia to spread disinformation after the fact.
On 4 February 2022, Daily Mail reported that Putin-backed Russian television channels were warning that a NATO-backed Ukrainian attack was imminent, hours after the Kremlin's plot to release a false flag video was exposed by the US. Three of Russia's largest state TV channels warned that a Ukrainian attack on the border area was imminents, falsely claiming that 120,000 Ukrainian troops were massed in the region, increased their artillery attacks, and set up hospitals. At the same time, Ukraine blamed Belarus for staging the "drone attack" the previous day, and claimed that the Russo-Belarusian war games were a cover for invasion preparations. That same day, Downing Street said it had high confidence Russia was planning to fabricate a reason for incurring on Ukraine, and that Britain was reconsidering options for further military deployments to support NATO's eastern flank. On 6 February, thousands of protesters gathered in Kharkiv to protest Russian aggression, as a pair of Tu-22M3 bombers were seen flying across Belarus. Washington also announced that Russia had mobilized 70% of the troops required for an invasion of Ukraine. That same day, US intelligence claimed that Russia would be able to overrun Kyiv in two days in an invasion that could kill 50,000 civilians; it was also projected that Kyiv could fall within that timeframe, leading to a humanitarian crisis involving around 5 million refugees. The analysis concluded that a diplomatic resolution of the crisis appeared to be increasingly slim. President Macron, however, said that a deal to avoid war in Ukraine was within reach, and that it was legitimate for Russia to raise its own security concerns to NATO.
On 10 February 2022, Russia and Belarus began the 10-day "Allied-Resolve 2022" military exercise in the biggest deployment of Russian troops since the Cold War, while Russian Navy drills in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov made navigation virtually impossible for Ukraine; Ukrainian ports were essentially blockaded by the Russian fleet. That same day, Biden called on any remaining Americans to leave Ukraine immediately due to increased threats of Russian military action.
Drastic actions[]
On 11 February 2022, the Biden administration said that Russia had enough troops and military equipment in place to launch an invasion of Ukraine, and he warned Americans to leave Ukraine within the next 48 hours. The British Foreign Office also ordered British citizens to leave Ukraine as a Russian invasion appeared imminent; Israel also evacuated its diplomats and their families from Kyiv and warned of an upcoming large-scale Russian offensive, Japan urged its 150 citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, and South Korea banned all travel to Ukraine and asked its citizens to leave Ukraine immediately. That same day, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that a full Russian invasion of Ukraine could come before the end of the Beijing Olympics on 20 February, while President Biden told his counterparts that Moscow could possibly invade Ukraine on or before 16 February. At the same time, European and British officials had contrasting intelligence, with the British differently interpreting the 16 February intelligence, and two European Union diplomats continuing to believe that invading Ukraine would be a mistake by Putin.
On 12 February 2022, all British and American troops were ordered to withdraw from Ukraine as Russo-Ukrainian tensions escalated, while 3,000 additional troops from the US 82nd Airborne Division troops were deployed to Poland. Estonia, Iraq, Palestine, Spain, and Taiwan warned against traveling to Ukraine and urged their citizens to leave, Israel declared a state of emergency over Russo-Ukrainian tensions, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines stopped flights to Ukraine, and the USA ordered the evacuation of its embassy staff in Ukraine. That same day, thousands marched in Kyiv to show unity against the Russian threat, chanting "Glory to Ukraine" and carrying Ukrainian flags and banners reading "Ukrainians will resist" and "Invaders must die." While Zelensky said that a Russian attack could happen at any time, he pushed back against releasing information which created panic in Ukraine. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi stated that Russia wouldn't take Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkov, or any other Ukrainian city, with Zaluzhnyi announcing, "We have strengthened the defense of Kyiv. We have gone through the war and due preparation. Therefore, we are ready to meet enemies and not with flowers, but with Stingers, Javelins and NLAW. Welcome to hell!" On 13 February, Canada withdrew its military advisors from Ukraine and removed its diplomatic staff from Kyiv to Lviv. That same day, Lithuania sent a shipment of Stinger missiles to Ukraine.
On 14 February 2022, the US State Department told Americans to leave Belarus immediately due to the threat of war, and the USA also relocated its embassy operations from Kyiv to Lviv. Russia also rejected a Ukrainian request for a meeting between both countries and the OSCE in order to discuss the crisis. While continuing to appeal for calm, President Zelensky declared 16 February a day of national unity, calling on all Ukrainians to display the national flag from their buildings and sing the national anthem in unison; 16 February was cited by Western intelligence as the day when Russia would likely invade Ukraine. That same day, Russian troops, along with long-range artillery and missile launchers, moved from their assembly areas into staging areas along the Ukrainian border.
15 February - Partial Russian withdrawal and "False flag" operation[]
On the morning 15 February, Russia announced the withdrawal of some troops from the border, with Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov announcing that units of the Southern and Western Military Districts completed their msisions and began boarding rail and automobile transport, beginning to return to their garrisons. However, Konashenkov also stated that the Russian armed forces were continuing a range of large-scale exercises for operational training of troops and forces, and practically all military districts, fleets, and the Russian Airborne Forces were taking part. In relation to the withdrawal of some Russian units, Russian government spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote, "February 15, 2022 will go into history as the day western war propaganda failed. They have been disgraced and destroyed without a single shot being fired."
That same day, however, the Russian TASS news website claimed that the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and Ukrainian special services attempted to carry out an IED terrorist attack on a memorial rally in Luhansk. The holiday was meant to celebrate Russian soldiers who fell while abroad, and the IED was "found" and "neutralized" in a trash can. Concurrently, the Luhansk People's Republic claimed that a servicemember was shot dead on the frontline at Golubovskoye by a Ukrainian sniper from Orekhovo in the first reported Ukrainian firing of shots since 28 January. In addition to these two escalations in Luhansk, the State Duma of Russia passed a Communist Party of the Russian Federation-sponsored bill to recognize the DPR and LPR as independent states, and the bill was sent to President Vladimir Putin for final approval. Putin also stated that diplomatic talks would continue and that Russia did not want a wwar in Europe, but called the situation in eastern Ukraine a "genocide" and said that there had not been a constructive response to Russia's demands. That same day, cyber attacks hit the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Privatbank, and Oschadbank.
Day of National Unity - "Day of No Invasion"[]
A "London Euromaidan"-sponsored Day of National Unity rally in front of Downing Street, London, 16 February 2022
By 16 February 2022, there were no signs that Russia had withdrawn any troops or de-escalated the situation, as two of the divisions withdrawn from the tactical games in Crimea were stationed very close to Ukraine. The 3rd Motorized Rifle Division had permanent bases to the northeast of Ukraine, while the 150th Motorized Rifle Division was garrisoned near Rostov-on-Don, just to Ukraine's southeast. Only the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division was sent back to its permanent base, in Chechnya. Many of the Russsian troops were withdrawn in the direction of the Ukrainian border, while heavy weaponry like TO5-1A thermobaric rocket launchers were transferred from the Volga River city of Samara to Kursk, closer to Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg stated that, contrary to Russia's claims of de-escalation, Russia was continuing the military build-up, and NATO had not received a response to a written document or written proposals that NATO sent to Russia on 26 January.
Another photo of the Ukrainian rally at Downing Street
Ukrainian military intelligence confirmed that the Russian military buildup was continuing, but continued to claim that Russia had insufficient troops for an invasion. Estonia's foreign intelligence also stated that Russia would be ready to attack Ukraine in the second half of February. By the end of the day, Russia had sent an additional 7,000 troops to the Ukrainian border, as well as armored vehicles, helicopters, and a field hospital. Additionally, Luhansk claimed that Ukrainian soldiers had attacked their soldiers with mortar fire, but the Ukrainian Joint Forces Operation said that, while the Ukrainians were fired upon with prohibited 122mm artillery, they did not open fire in response. Meanwhile, Ukraine held its Day of National Unity, with President Zelensky touring the country to stir up patriotic fervor, and Ukrainians being encouraged to fly the national flag from their homes; in London, members of the "London Euromaidan" pro-democracy group held a rally in solidarity with Ukraine in front of Downing Street and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. By the day's end, Russian pundits ridiculed Western media, with Russian 60 Minutes television host Olga Skabeevna stating, "What a sad celebration we have today. The day of no invasion of Ukraine, or perhaps as they say in Ukraine, the day when Putin once again hasn't attacked." Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also taunted the Western media, writing a "request to the mass disinformation outlets of the USA and Britain – Bloomberg, the New York Times, the Sun etc – announce the schedule of our 'invasions' for the coming year. I’d like to plan my vacation."
Shellings and Evacuations[]
The next day, tensions escalated when the Luhansk People's Republic again claimed that Ukraine had attacked its forces with mortars, grenade launchers, and machine-gun fire. Ukraine conversely claimed that the separatist shelled a kindergarten at Stanytsia Luhanska and injured three civilians, while the LPR claimed that the kindergarten was located in territory under their control. President Biden again said that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could occur at some point during the next few days, and he reiterated the idea that Russia would use one of various methods to stage a "false flag" operation to justify war. That same day, the American deputy ambassador to Russia was expelled from the country unprovoked, and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that shelling had begun in Ukraine. Russian shelling of Ukrainian territory reportedly occurred across the entire frontline that day.
Map of the Russian false flag incidents
On 18 February 2022, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced that the ceasefire agreement had been violated over 60 times during the past 24 hours. Ukrainian general Alexander Pavlyuk claimed that the pro-Russian separatists had increased provocative actions in a bid to provoke Ukraine's armed forces to fire back. On that same day, Russia announced major military exercises to begin the next day, with Putin personally overseeing them; they would involve ballistic and cruise missile launches, and test how ready Russia's nuclear armaments were. At the same time, senior British officials said that Putin had decided to invade Ukraine following changes over the last 24 hours, while Germany deployed 130 troops and 60 armored personnel carriers to Lithuania, with President Gitanas Nauseda authorizing them to protect the country from threats. Also on 18 February, DPR Prime Minister Denis Pushilin announced that he believed that Ukraine was planning a renewed offensive against Donbass and ordered the mass evacuation of the DPR's civilians to Russia, with women, children, and the elderly being evacuated first. That same day, LPR head Leonid Pasechnik called upon able-bodied men to stand up in defense of the Republic, while also calling for an unprecedented evacuation of civilians to Russia. The evacuations were projected to evacuate 700,000 people to Russia, with the first buses traveling to Rostov Oblast, and Putin awarding 10,000 rubles ($129.40) to refugees from Donbass. That same day, a series of false flag operations occurred, including a jeep blowing up outside of a DPR building in Donetsk city, a powerful explosion at the Druzhba pipeline in Luhansk Oblast (one of Russia's main pipelines used to transport gas to the EU), and a second large explosion occurring in Luhansk. The British embassy concurrently relocated from Kyiv to Lviv and urged its citizens to leave the country while they still could, Estonia delivered a shipment of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, and President Biden again predicted that Russia would invade Ukraine in the coming days and would try to capture Kyiv.
On 19 February 2021, the DPR and LPR both declared a full military mobilization, a day after beginning the evacuation of their civilians to Russia. That same day, separatists opened fire on more than 30 settlements with artillery, killing two Ukrainian troops and injuring four others. However, Russia claimed that Ukrainian shells had fallen in Rostov Oblast and destroyed a FSB border base. In response to these escalations, Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed that Russia was planning the biggest war in Europe since 1945. On 20 February, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Putin announced that they would work toward a ceasefire agreement in order to avert war with Ukraine. At the same time, Russia extended the duration of its military exercises in Ukraine, and the LPR claimed that five buildings were destroyed and two civilians killed in Ukrainian shelling in Pionerskoye.
On 21 February 2022, separatist forces shelled of Zaitseve, killing two soldiers and a civilian. Additionally, Russia claimed that it had killed five Ukrainian soldiers who tried to infiltrate its territory in two infantry fighting vehicles. In response, Putin held a televised announcement in which he claimed that Ukraine was a country with no tradition of statehood, was an artificial creation of Vladimir Lenin and the Soviet Union (hence arguing that Ukraine's "decommunization" should apply to Ukraine's own statehood), and was a US puppet regime rife with corruption. Putin then announced that he would sign a degree recognizing the independence of the DPR and the LPR, and he called on the Duma to ratify the treaties on friendship and mutual aid with the breakaway states. Putin also deployed Russian troops to Donetsk and Luhansk for a "peacekeeping mission", and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the United States would rally the international community to hold Russia accountable should it invade Ukraine.
On 22 February 2022, in response to Russia effectively withdrawing from the Minsk Protocol, Germany suspended the Nord Stream 2 project, while Syria voiced its support for the Russian recognition of the DPR and LPR's independence. In addition, the EU, UK, Japan, and Ukraine tabled sanctions against Russian banks and individuals. After the arrival of tanks was reported on the outskirts of Donetsk, President Zelensky said that he was weighing a request from his foreign ministry to break off diplomatic ties with Moscow. At the same press conference, he also said that he was prepared to introduce martial law if a large-scale conflict broke out with Russia, while UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid and the United States government each said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine had begun. Later that same day, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela also recognized the LPR and DPR, while President Zelensky mobilized Ukraine's reservists from ages 18 to 60 but stopped short of a general mobilization. Likewise, Russia's Federation Council authorized the use of military force in Ukraine.
On 23 February 2022, Ukraine told its citizens to leave Russia, and Kyiv declared a nationwide, 30-day state of emergency as Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison warned that Russia could be planning to invade Ukraine within 24 hours. Russia declared that its security interests were non-negotiable, and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss stated that it was highly likely that Russia was planning a move on Kyiv. The White House called off a summit between Presidents Biden and Putin as a result of the deployment of Russian troops to Ukraine, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called off talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Australia and Canada joined other nations in sanctioning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, while the USA concurrently stepped up its troop presence in the Baltics to protect its NATO allies from potential Russian aggression; Truss had previously predicted that Ukraine would only be the first of many former Soviet states to be targeted by Putin. China also criticized Russia for violating Ukraine's territorial sovereignty by recognizing the LPR and DPR in a rare public break with Russian foreign policy. At the day's end, in a major development, the LPR and DPR asked Russia for military aid in the possible final pretext for a Russian invasion. Meanwhile, Russia evacuated its embassy in Kyiv, and nearly 100% of Russian troops were moved into invasion-ready positions. On the morning of 24 February, Russia launched its invasion, and the crisis evolved into war.
Attack on Snake Island[]
- Main article: Battle of Snake Island
On 24 February 2022, the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Snake Island, a Ukrainian island in the Black Sea, was attacked by the Russian Navy. At 18:00 local time, an attack on Snake Island was declared. This attack was the first battle in the war. captured Snake Island in the Black Sea from its small SBGS border guard garrison. The Russian Navy warships Moskva and Vasily Bykov, as well as combat aircraft, bombarded the island with deck guns before sending Russian soldiers ashore to take control of the facility. The Russians gave the 13 Ukrainian soldiers an opportunity to surrender, but they defiantly responded idi nakhuy ("Go f*** yourself"), and many of them were killed. In honor of the Ukrainian border guards' bravery, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that they would all posthumously be awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.