It started with a 4 a.m. explosion that most of the world thought was a bluff. February 24, 2022. For months, satellite images showed dirt berms and field hospitals popping up along the Ukrainian border, but the collective "we" stayed in denial. Then the missiles hit. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia wasn't just a "border dispute" or a localized conflict; it was the largest conventional military attack on a European state since World War II. It changed everything.
You've probably seen the maps. The red blobs creeping across the Donbas, the desperate defense of Kyiv, and the sunflower seeds in the pockets of fallen soldiers. But to really understand why this happened—and why it’s still dragging on years later—you have to look past the headlines about tanks and talk about the actual mechanics of power, ego, and a very specific type of historical revisionism.
How the invasion of Ukraine by Russia broke the "Long Peace"
For decades, political scientists talked about the "Long Peace." The idea was simple: big countries don't invade each other anymore because trade makes it too expensive. Russia proved that theory wrong in a single morning. Vladimir Putin’s speech right before the tanks rolled in wasn't about NATO expansion alone, though he loves to talk about that. It was about his belief that Ukraine isn't a "real" country. He basically said as much in his 5,000-word essay back in 2021.
The math didn't add up for a lot of people. Why risk the global economy for a piece of land?
The answer is complicated. It's a mix of "Russkiy Mir" (Russian World) ideology and a deep-seated fear in the Kremlin that a democratic, Western-leaning Ukraine would make Russians start asking why their own government is so... well, stagnant. Honestly, it's about control. When the invasion of Ukraine by Russia began, the goal was a lightning strike. Capture Kyiv in three days. Install a puppet. Go home for tea.
It failed. Spectacularly.
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The Battle of Kyiv showed the world that a motivated citizenry with NLAWs and Javelins could actually hold off a superpower. We saw 40-mile-long convoys just sitting there, running out of gas. It was embarrassing for the Russian Ministry of Defense. But as the "blitz" turned into a "grind," the nature of the war shifted from high-tech maneuvers to something that looks a lot like 1916—tunnels, trenches, and endless artillery.
The Misconception of the "Quick Victory"
People often ask why the West didn't see this coming or why Russia thought it would be easy. Total intelligence failure? Sorta. But mostly it was a failure of imagination.
- The FSB (Russia's internal security) reportedly told Putin that Ukrainians would welcome the troops with flowers.
- The Russian military relied on outdated maps and top-down command structures where nobody felt safe telling the boss "this is a bad idea."
- Ukraine had been training since 2014. They weren't the same army that lost Crimea without a fight.
Logistics is the real killer
You can have the best tanks in the world, but if you don't have tires that work or fuel trucks to keep them moving, they're just expensive paperweights. In the early days of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, we saw exactly that. Russian soldiers were literally looting grocery stores because their MREs (meals ready to eat) had expired in 2002. Think about that. You're trying to conquer a nation of 40 million people with crackers that are twenty years old.
Ukraine, meanwhile, turned into a giant tech startup. They used an app called Diia—originally for paying parking tickets—to let citizens report Russian tank movements in real-time. It’s "Uber for Artillery." One minute a grandma sees a BMP outside her window, the next minute an M777 howitzer shell is landing on it.
The Human Cost and the "New Normal"
Numbers get thrown around a lot. Hundreds of thousands dead or wounded. Millions displaced. But those stats hide the reality of places like Bucha or Irpin. When the Russian forces retreated from the Kyiv outskirts in April 2022, they left behind evidence of what human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented as systemic war crimes.
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This wasn't just collateral damage. It was intentional.
The strategy shifted from "winning hearts and minds" to "breaking the spirit." This is why we saw the winter campaigns against the power grid. Imagine being in a Kyiv high-rise in January. No heat. No water. No elevator. You're carrying buckets of water up twenty flights of stairs just to flush the toilet. That is the daily reality for millions because of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Economics: The World's Gas Station is Closing
Russia is basically a gas station with nukes. That's the old joke, right? But the war forced Europe—especially Germany—to do something nobody thought possible: quit Russian gas cold turkey. It caused a massive spike in energy prices, sure. But it also stripped Russia of its biggest leverage.
The sanctions were supposed to collapse the Ruble. They didn't. Not entirely. Russia found ways to sell oil to India and China, creating a "shadow fleet" of tankers to bypass price caps. It’s a cat-and-mouse game. The West freezes assets; Russia nationalizes Western factories (like Danone or Carlsberg). It’s messy.
Where things actually stand right now
We’ve moved into a war of attrition. Russia has more people to throw into the "meat grinder." Ukraine has better tech but is constantly running low on ammo.
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The 2023 counteroffensive didn't bring the Hollywood breakthrough people wanted. The landmines were too thick. Russia had months to build the "Surovikin Line"—hundreds of miles of dragon's teeth, trenches, and minefields. It turns out, it's a lot easier to defend than it is to attack.
We are seeing a revolution in drone warfare. FPV (First Person View) drones that cost $500 are destroying tanks that cost $5 million. It’s changed the battlefield. You can’t hide anymore. If a drone pilot sees you, you’re basically dead. It’s terrifying and efficient.
The Nuclear Elephant in the Room
Every time Ukraine gets a new toy—HIMARS, Abrams tanks, F-16s—the Kremlin mentions their nuclear arsenal. It’s "saber-rattling," according to most analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). But it works. It creates "escalation management" in Washington and Berlin. It's the reason the aid comes in trickles rather than a flood.
Actionable Insights for Following the Conflict
If you want to stay informed without falling for propaganda (from either side), you have to change how you consume news about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
- Follow the OSINT community: Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) accounts on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) or Mastodon use satellite imagery and geolocated videos to verify claims. Look for accounts like Oryx (which tracks visual equipment losses) or DeepStateMap for frontline updates.
- Check the Source: Russian state media (TASS, RT) is legally obligated to follow the Kremlin line. Conversely, Ukrainian official numbers on Russian casualties are often optimistic. Look for the "middle ground" from independent NGOs.
- Watch the "Global South": This war isn't just about the West. Pay attention to how Brazil, India, and South Africa are positioning themselves. Their trade decisions often matter more than a UN resolution.
- Focus on the "Why" of Aid: When you hear about a "$60 billion package," remember that most of that money stays in the US or Europe to buy new weapons while the old stock goes to Ukraine. It’s a massive subsidy for the Western defense industry.
- Prepare for Longevity: This isn't ending next month. Whether it’s a "frozen conflict" like Korea or a slow Ukrainian victory, the geopolitical map of Europe has been permanently redrawn.
The reality of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is that it’s a test of endurance. It's about who runs out of people, shells, or political will first. For Ukraine, it’s existential. For Russia, it’s about the legacy of a single man. For the rest of us, it’s a stark reminder that the "rules-based order" we took for granted is a lot more fragile than we thought.
Stay skeptical of "miracle weapons" and "total collapses." Wars of this scale are won in the factories and the grain fields as much as they are in the trenches. Keep an eye on the logistics. That’s where the truth usually hides.