Vladimir Zelensky named the same day a “rebirth” of his nation. “A new nation was born at four in the morning. It wasn’t born, it was reborn. A people who didn’t weep, or wail or cower. They didn’t flee, capitulate. And they didn’t forget.”
Was this date chosen by Putin done from strictly military considerations or historical significance, i.e. Estonia’s Independence Declaration, which, according to Putin, Russia never recognized? (Putin claims that the current Russian Federation is not a successor state to Soviet Russia, a signatory to the Tartu Rahu.) The notion that the invasion date chosen was historically symbolic for him may be far-fetched but intriguing nevertheless.
In reality February 24th marks the second Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia actually attacked in 2014, on February 20th. Now after 365 days of an all-out assault, many in the West are anxious to see it end.
