Video_2022-02-22_00-06-10.mp4 May 2026

unanimously authorized the use of military force abroad, providing the legal domestic framework for the invasion that followed 48 hours later.

During this period, several videos were circulated by Russian state media and proxy forces that were later identified by Western intelligence and open-source investigators as staged "false flag" operations. video_2022-02-22_00-06-10.mp4

: Germany halted the certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and the US and UK began announcing initial sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs. unanimously authorized the use of military force abroad,

: On the evening of February 21 and into the early hours of February 22, Russia officially recognized the independence of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) . Immediately following this, Putin ordered Russian "peacekeeping" troops into these territories. : On the evening of February 21 and

: Some videos purportedly showed Ukrainian saboteurs or shelling in Russian-held territory to provide a pretext for the invasion.