And the sirens went off in Kiev

As the last voices of World War II fade away, on Thursday, February 24, 2022, sirens wailed in Kyiv. Their sound waves spread across Europe, turning our alarm clocks into a deafening silence. War… The younger generations in Europe have had the privilege of being spared it. Rooted in the collective imagination as a distant mirage, it has finally returned to the continent. At the dawn of an unprecedented chapter in history, international tensions have reached a fever pitch, foreshadowing a deeply uncertain future for this conflict that is already our own. Our press roundup.

Thursday, February 24, in the morning. Russian President Vladimir Putin officially announced the launch of a «special military operation» in Ukraine in a surprise televised address, in which he explained that he intended to carry out the «demilitarization» of the neighboring country as well as its «denazification.».

The West is assessing the scale of this unprecedented maneuver. While Russian rhetoric carefully avoids using a particularly bellicose term, the international community is not fooled. It condemns an «invasion»; the French president chose to describe it as a ’massive military attack« in his address, quoting the Ukrainian president, who spoke of a »state of total war.« This is not merely a military operation. After numerous violations, the true face of Putin’s war has been revealed.

«Even the children realized it was war.»

Visit alarm sirens The deafening bombardment across numerous Ukrainian cities ominously heralds the start of a war. The accounts reported in the international press are chilling—both in terms of the images and stories and the explosions of the bombardments targeting the citizens of a nation that has been cowardly singled out for exercising its sovereignty. «With these explosions, even the children realized it was war,» reads the headline on the French news website Mediapart. Targeting civilian homes is despicable; it tramples on humanity right in the heart of people’s homes.

At 9:39 a.m. that same day, the Belgian French-Language Radio and Television (RTBF) reports: Airspace over Ukraine and Moldova has been closed. The visualization on the Flight Radar website is striking. The New York Times presents a grim assessment: more than 70 Ukrainian military targets were destroyed during the day. That evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will announce 137 deaths within the country.

See also | Our editorial War in Ukraine: may this horrible surprise not be in vain

When, during a televised address reported by the daily newspaper Le Figaro According to AFP, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov described the first day of this «special military operation» as a success, while Ukrainian citizens are devastated.

Between Distress and Resilience in Kyiv

At dawn, the head of state declared martial law. At noon, the Anglo-Saxon daily newspaper The Guardian shares the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s call for help to the cyber community: «Ukrainian cyber community! It’s time to get involved in our country’s cyber defense,» in order to support the emerging resistance against the Russian invader by any means necessary. «We have an army [the Russian army] on our soil; we need to know what they’re doing.»

That same evening, according to AFP, President Zelensky declared a general mobilization, to take effect within 90 days for those subject to military conscription and reservists.

It is the collective outrage that the Kyiv Post via AFP. The English-language Ukrainian website, which has a pro-Western editorial stance, lists the various forms of support for Ukraine. The heads of state of various Western countries have reacted in unison, strongly condemning Russia’s aggression on Ukrainian territory. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced a «violation of Ukrainian sovereignty,» while U.S. President Joe Biden warned that «the world will hold Russia accountable for the deaths and destruction.».

Various international organizations are joining the heads of state in their condemnation. For example, UN Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg denounced «a flagrant violation of international law» and described it as «a serious threat to NATO’s security.» Western leaders are also in agreement on the issue of deploying ground troops to Ukrainian soil to reinforce Kyiv: no country is considering this at the moment.

A Graduated Response

On Thursday evening, the European Union adopted a new set of punitive measures against Russia, according to the French daily Release. Combined with the initial sanctions approved on Tuesday, they signal a growing escalation of tensions. Their goal: to «strangle» Moscow by disrupting its financial system, as well as by blocking access to critical technologies and halting exports related to the aerospace and oil industries. European partners have also decided to act as quickly as possible to achieve energy independence, which will directly impact the Russian economy once it is fully implemented.

The German news agency Reuters highlights Australia and New Zealand, which have also imposed sanctions on Russia. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described Beijing’s attitude toward its Russian partner as «unacceptable.» In fact, he points to China’s lack of firmness. Furthermore, while the American newspaper Washington Post Although the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs attempted to downplay the support given to Moscow in its offensive, the fact remains that the overall situation seems more conducive than ever to a rapprochement between the two countries. For now, China is playing both sides: at times feigning surprise at the attack on Ukraine and reiterating last weekend that «the sovereignty of every country must be respected, and Ukraine is no exception,» and at other times accusing the United States of being responsible for the current conflict.

Is NATO Heading Toward Intervention?

Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty is one of the most famous. It stipulates that «if a NATO country is the victim of an armed attack, each member of the Alliance shall regard this act of violence as an armed attack directed against all members and shall take such measures as it deems necessary to assist the country under attack.» Since Ukraine is not a member of NATO, the organization’s member countries cannot legitimately intervene.

However, by midday, the French daily Le Figaro recalls the possibility of invoking Article 4 of the Treaty, which is based on the principle of collective defense. The article further stipulates that «the Allies may consult one another whenever they consider that their territorial integrity, political independence, or security is threatened in any way.» Consequently, it was decided to hold a meeting on February 25, 2022, after the Baltic states, Poland, and Romania requested the activation of this article for consultation.

The possibility of military intervention in support of the Ukrainian people is therefore on the table, although it is unlikely that troops would be sent to the ground, according to the Swiss news site watson. On the morning of February 25, 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron announced «the acceleration of the deployment of French troops to Romania,» where U.S. troops are already stationed.

Photo credit: © Matti via Pexels.