Tensions in Ukraine continue to escalate. On the morning of February 24, local time, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a national speech and ordered war on Ukraine. This decision immediately aroused global attention, and Ukraine, the United States, the European Union and other parties quickly launched accusations against Russia. Putin said the Russian military had no plans to occupy Ukraine, but he stressed that Russia would defend itself.
Putin's order to start a war against Ukraine was unexpected by many people, but it was reasonable. As the saying goes, there is no need to endure any longer, and the United States has repeatedly violated the agreement with Russia and led NATO to expand eastward five times to the doorstep of Russia, which has risen to the bad level of "digging the grave of the ancestors". You know, Ukraine is the birthplace of the Slavs, and this is a place that must not be touched by the West. Therefore, on February 21, Putin declared the recognition of the "Donetsk People's Republic" and the Luhansk People's Republic "as "independent" states. Immediately, Ukrainian troops fired their first shots at the Donbass region and continued to use artillery to attack and assert territorial sovereignty, which led to a large number of refugees flocking to Russia. To this end, the Russian army entered the Donbass region in the name of peacekeeping, at which time the Ukrainian army began to retreat.
Considering that Russia under Putin's leadership once supported Crimea's accession to Russia under the banner of a "referendum", Ukraine naturally feared that the Donbass region would also be included in Russia's territory. In fact, in the past 8 years, although there have been small-scale conflicts between the Ukrainian government army and the eastern civilian armed forces, Putin has not given formal diplomatic recognition to the "Donetsk People's Republic" and the "Luhansk People's Republic" established by the eastern civilian armed forces, and the Russian army has not directly participated in the war. The reason for Putin's restrained attitude is not only due to the limited national strength and unwillingness to break out a full-scale conflict with the West, but also related to the domestic political situation. So Putin's ostensible support is high, but if he is more deeply involved in The conflict within Ukraine, it is likely to weaken public support at home. If it were not for NATO's continuous eastward expansion to the level of "digging up ancestral graves", Putin would definitely not take military action against Ukraine, but in the face of serious threats to national security interests, Putin can only choose jedi counterattack.
Putin's military action immediately panicked Kiev, and Ukrainian President Zelenskiy loudly called for dialogue, declaring that Russia was ready to "attack" Ukraine, but Ukraine was never a Russian threat. Zelenskiy also stressed that Kiev did not intend to confront Moscow or engage in any form of war confrontation. Still, Zelenskiy defended Ukraine's quest to join NATO, saying Kiev was only looking for security, not against Russia. Zelenskiy also said Kiev was ready to start a dialogue with Putin on any platform. However, Zelenskiy's summation seems to be too late. Zelenskiy said Putin did not respond to his call request.
On February 24, with Putin's order, the Russian armored torrent quickly rushed out of the country, rushing from Belarus to Kiev in the north, and from Odessa to the north in the south, the eastern frontal battlefield was fully opened, and the Ukrainian capital was in jeopardy. Russian Defense Minister Shoigu said that the Ukrainian army has deployed 60,000 Russian troops in Donbas, as well as thousands of armored vehicles and artillery, but in the face of a strong Russian ground armor torrent, it can not stop the Russian army's fierce offensive. At this time, Ukraine still seems to have high hopes for the West to enter the war and is eager to ask the West for help. But the Russian army said with disdain when talking about the Ukrainian troops: We are carrying out the instructions issued by President Putin, and we are not even afraid of the United States.
With the continuous advancement of the Russian ground forces, the Russian Air Force also carried out operations at the same time, and adopted the air-ground joint operation mode to continue to advance. The Associated Press reported on February 24 that the Ukrainian National Guard Command has been destroyed. The Russian Defense Ministry has publicly stated that the Ukrainian border guards have not resisted the Russian troops, the military infrastructure of the Ukrainian Air Force has been paralyzed, and the air defense of the Ukrainian armed forces has been completely suppressed. In addition, the Russian Black Sea Fleet also took action, and the Ukrainian Navy, a total of 13 ships, has now all been destroyed and captured, withdrawn from the sequence of battles, and the Ukrainian maritime armed forces have been completely destroyed. This meant that it took less than 5 hours for the Russian army to lift the resistance of the Ukrainian air force and navy.
At present, the Russian ground combat forces have captured the Kiev region and are expanding their battlefield advantages, and in the case that the US-led NATO will not directly send troops to participate in the war, Russia cannot take the initiative to withdraw its troops, unless the Zelensky government takes the initiative to sign the "alliance under the city" with Putin, agrees not to seek to join NATO forever, and even agrees to merge the Donbass region into Russia as a buffer zone. For Russia, there is no turning back, and Putin is likely hoping to solve NATO's eastward expansion once and for all through this military operation and increase his strategic depth by changing territory. Now that the Russian army has gained the initiative and dominance of the battlefield, Ukraine has no better choice but to compromise and yield, because the Western countries that they had high hopes for will not directly send troops to participate in the war except to condemn and sanction Russia, and the comedian Zelenskiy personally directed the political tragedy of Ukraine.