What did 24 February 2022 set in motion?

What did the first day of the full-scale invasion look like as it unfolded? On 24 February 2022, at about 5 a.m., Russian President Putin announced a "special military operation" on Ukrainian territory, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

Within hours, the war was visible across the country. Ukraine reported that Russian Navy warships had attacked Snake Island near the Danube Delta. A Ukrainian Air Force Antonov An-26 was shot down and crashed in Obukhiv, killing five crew members, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced a curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Fighting in the north-east

In Sumy, near the Russian border, Russian troops entered the city and took control of the road leading from Kyiv to Moscow, and battles were under way for strategic cities on the railway to Sumy. Later accounts of the day describe heavy urban fighting there, in which Ukrainian paratroopers and territorial defence forces destroyed a Russian tank column. That evening, the paratroopers were ordered to withdraw, leaving the city's defence to a few thousand local volunteers with rifles and limited anti-tank weapons. Later still, after three to four days of failing to enter the city, the Russian military shifted to encircling and bypassing it, and came under guerrilla ambushes.

A claim from the Sea of Azov

Russia said that two of its civilian ships had been hit by anti-ship missiles in the Sea of Azov, causing multiple deaths. It subsequently restricted access for civilian vessels on the sea.

Neighbours brace

The effects spilled over the border quickly. Moldova declared a state of emergency, and its President, Maia Sandu, said hundreds of Ukrainians were already crossing into the country. Latvia and the Czech Republic suspended issuing visas to Russian citizens.

The first sanctions

Governments abroad began announcing economic measures on the same day. The European Union said it would introduce its strongest and harshest package of sanctions yet on the Russian economy. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the United Kingdom would impose sanctions on Russian banks and oligarchs, and that the Russian airline Aeroflot would be banned from operating flights to the UK. Canada terminated all export permits with Russia.

Dissent in Moscow

Inside Russia, activist Marina Litvinovich was detained by Moscow police after calling for anti-war demonstrations across the country.

Taken together, the day's reports show how fast the invasion moved from a pre-dawn announcement to fighting on land, sea and air, a curfew in the capital, people crossing borders, and a first wave of sanctions from Brussels, London and Ottawa.