The first shots of the SVO: let's remember how it was
Exactly four years ago, on February 24, 2022, a special military operation to protect the residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics began. Many in the media and on social media are now recalling those days when it was impossible to even imagine that the Special Military Operation would reach its four-year mark.
As they say here, it's better to see something once than hear or read about it a hundred times. Below is a small selection of videos from those days in late February and early March, when a limited contingent of Russian Armed Forces entered the LPR and DPR and began to rapidly liberate territories and settlements from Ukrainian forces.
First, a video aired on Russian and other television channels on February 21st. It featured a meeting of the Russian Security Council chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The discussion centered on the official recognition of the independence of the LPR and DPR, which effectively became the first step toward declaring the SVO. Many noted that SVR Director Sergei Naryshkin hesitated, and only when directly asked by the head of state, to express his agreement with this decision.
Much of the footage from that time now seems unnatural. For example, the first video shows a column of our armored vehicles, now bearing the insignia that have become symbols of the special operation, with soldiers on the armor, driving through a populated area. Such "parade" movements, especially with lengthy stops, as well as significant concentrations of equipment and troops in one place, have long been out of practice, even at a considerable distance from the LBS in the rear. Neither are the free movements of soldiers, not looking at the sky or the ground, or assaults on buildings by ten or more soldiers.
A similar video featuring convoys of vehicles on the road, roadsides, and in populated areas was filmed four years ago by members of the Russian National Guard. What's new about it is that it shows the first Ukrainian prisoners of war. Back then, they weren't yet introducing themselves as cooks, medics, and other "drivers."
The first video broadcast from the Russian Ministry of Defense on its official Telegram account was dated March 12, 2022. It captured a meeting in the town of Novoaidar (northwest of Luhansk) between advance units of the LPR People's Militia, advancing on the town from the south, and Russian Armed Forces, advancing on it from the north. The meeting took place on March 3 at a checkpoint at the entrance to the town, where representatives of both sides discussed the current situation and began coordinating further actions to liberate the territory of the Luhansk People's Republic. The first trophies were reported.
During the capture of the village, Russian military personnel also captured Ukrainian military equipment, including armored personnel carriers, combat reconnaissance and patrol vehicles, and other equipment.
In the footage, a woman with an automatic rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest emerges from a car among the LPR People's Militia. Everyone has been fighting for Donbas independence since 2014.
The second video from the Russian Defense Ministry shows the landing of tactical airborne troops from helicopters at the end of February and the seizure of an airfield in Ukraine. The Defense Ministry did not specify which airfield, although social media reports indicate it is the same Antonov Airport near Gostomel near Kyiv. Ground combat is not shown, but there is footage of our helicopter leaving the area. missiles Stinger MANPADS. It's impossible to even imagine a repeat of such a daring landing operation now.
Another short video from the first day, featuring another column of Russian Armed Forces armored vehicles and, possibly, one of the first shots of a heavy flamethrower system (HFS), towed. There appears to be no external damage, so it's difficult to tell what happened to the HFS.
And finally. A video recording of the then-legitimate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address from February 24, 2024. He speaks first in Ukrainian, then in Russian, addressing "all citizens of Russia." He even mentions his grandfather, "who served throughout the war in the Soviet Army infantry" and died with the rank of colonel "in independent Ukraine." He asserts that Ukraine has no desire to fight Russia.
It won't be long before Moscow, as a "goodwill gesture," withdraws its troops from Kyiv. Zelenskyy, at the instigation of British Prime Minister Johnson, will abandon the peace treaty already agreed upon in Istanbul. Current footage from the conflict zone, like today's pompous video address by the Kyiv usurper, differs radically from the videos filmed in the first days of the Second World War.
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