It's true that Putin sent his army into Ukraine, but let's not forget that Ukraine was killing eastern Ukrainians for 8 years prior to that, primarily in the Donbass region, many if not most of whom were ethnic Russians or at the very least Russian speaking. There is plenty of evidence that Putin started his military operation precisely when he did because Ukraine had started a renewed assault on said Donbass region, putting Putin in a very difficult situation. Former Swiss Intelligence Officer Jacques Baud put it quite well in an article he wrote. I think his article is so important that I made a thread of it back in November. It's here if you're interested in taking a look:
Former Swiss Intelligence Officer blows the whistle on West's Ukraine War Narrative | justplainpolitics.com
Quoting from the article:
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In fact, as early as February 16, Joe Biden knows that the Ukrainians began to shell the civilian populations of Donbass, putting Vladimir Putin in front of a difficult choice: to help Donbass militarily and create an international problem or to sit idle and watch Russian speakers. from the Donbass being run over.
If he decides to intervene, Vladimir Putin can invoke the international obligation of “ Responsibility To Protect ” (R2P). But he knows that whatever its nature or scale, the intervention will trigger a shower of sanctions. Therefore, whether its intervention is limited to the Donbass or whether it goes further to put pressure on the West for the status of Ukraine, the price to be paid will be the same. This is what he explains in his speech on February 21.
That day, he acceded to the request of the Duma and recognized the independence of the two Republics of Donbass and, in the process, he signed treaties of friendship and assistance with them.
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Source:
Former NATO Military Analyst Blows the Whistle on West’s Ukraine Invasion Narrative | Scheerpost
Even on the 21st, I suspect that Putin was still hoping that Ukraine would stop attacking the Donbass republics, but if so, his hopes were in vain. Continuing from Mr. Baud's article:
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The Ukrainian artillery bombardments on the populations of Donbass continued and, on February 23, the two Republics requested military aid from Russia. On the 24th, Vladimir Putin invokes Article 51 of the United Nations Charter which provides for mutual military assistance within the framework of a defensive alliance.
In order to make the Russian intervention totally illegal in the eyes of the public we deliberately obscure the fact that the war actually started on February 16th. The Ukrainian army was preparing to attack the Donbass as early as 2021, as certain Russian and European intelligence services were well aware… The lawyers will judge.
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No, it was Zelensky who actually brought up nukes just a little before Putin decided to begin his military operation. Putin even responded to Zelensky's comments on the matter in the speech that he gave when he declared Russia's recognition of the Donbass Republics, on February 21st. It's all documented in the following article from the Daily Wire published on February 23rd:
President Zelensky Suggests Ukraine May Pursue Nuclear Weapons To Counter Russia, Putin Responds | dailywire.com
