Anniversary of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine
On Feb. 24, 2022 the life of Ukrainians changed. Completely. That day, at 5 a.m. Kyiv time, we woke up in a new Ukraine and a new world, one facing the brutality of an unjust war. The introduction of martial law at 5:30 a.m. on that day signalled the beginning of a new phase of Russian aggression against Ukraine that was initiated in 2014. That fateful morning, Russia launched a full-scale offensive that destroyed the lives of millions of people, waging genocidal violence, no less.
Millions woke up to the news and the sirens and an immeasurable quantity of “how are you” were sent across all kinds of messengers. We tried to remain calm, keep our heads cool and follow instructions given by relatives, friends, colleagues, authorities. And yet, even as we grabbed our emergency backpacks, went down into bomb shelters, and winced from the sounds of explosions, we still struggled to believe it was actually happening.
Things moved very quickly on Feb. 24,2022. At 5:21 a.m., cities all over the country shook from explosions. Russian troops began the invasion in multiple directions from the Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Kyiv regions. The surreal experience of watching full-scale war in live time, as updates kept pouring in every minute, gripped us all in fear.
The Russian army took over the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Russia captured Zmiinyi Island (Snake Island) in the Black Sea. It was then that the Ukrainian border guards refused to surrender and instead gave a response that later gained global fame: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself”. They were taken into Russian captivity. The Battle of Kyiv had begun. Despite Russia’s plans to take over the Ukrainian capital in three days, Ukrainian defenders heroically repelled the attack of the Russian forces after a month of ruthless fighting. The full timeline of Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine from 2014 till onwards can be read on the official MFA website.
This picture shows the message that our team members have used as an introduction slide in any presentation we’ve given talking about the war in Ukraine. Today, we turned it into a picture, to share the reality of our Feb. 24, the kind that we don’t want anyone in the world to ever see on their screens. We started this project and other important informational initiatives with the aim of conveying the truth and working to establish a long and just peace in the world – thank you for staying by our side through this difficult year.
