“I’m in shock,” he stated to me, “just like two years ago on 24 February: when the war started.”
It got me to thinking about everything that has occurred in Russia over the past two years, ever since President Putin gave the order to invade Ukraine on a large scale.
It is a litany of tragedy, violence, and drama.
Ukraine has suffered death and ruin as a result of Russia’s war. Massive losses have also been incurred by the Russian military.
Drone attacks and shelling have occurred in Russian towns;
Numerous Russian men were conscripted into the armed forces, and Wagner mercenaries staged a coup and advanced on Moscow. Later, Yevgeny Prigozhin, their leader,
The president of Russia is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes.
The most vocal opponent of Vladimir Putin is now deceased.
February 24, 2022, was a turning point.
However, upon reflection, the path of travel was evident. The year 2014 marked Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and its initial military intervention in the Donbas; in 2020, Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a nerve weapon and imprisoned in 2021. Although it existed before the invasion of Ukraine, domestic repression in Russia has intensified since then.