Vladimir Putin announced the launch of military operations during a surprise intervention on television

It is 4 a.m. in Paris, 6 a.m. in Moscow, when Vladimir Putin takes the floor to declare war on Ukraine. “I took the decision of a special military operation. The goal is the protection of the people, who for 8 years suffered the abuses and the genocide of the regime of Kiev”, he said. Unfounded accusations of genocide, which Vladimir Putin uses to justify his invasion. He accuses Ukraine of attacking pro-Russians in the separatist territories. He announces that he will target the Ukrainian army.

As Russian tanks enter Ukraine, Vladimir Putin claims, this Thursday, February 24, not to want to occupy the country. But the martial tone is unambiguous. And at the end of the speech, the Russian president threatens all those who would like to oppose his maneuvers. For some experts, there would be in his words a thinly veiled reference to nuclear weapons.