Military Invasion What happened that day?

“Unexpected” and crisis in the capital February 21, 20:48

On February 24th, one year ago, Russian forces fired missiles into Ukraine and began crossing the border.

The Western media were actively reporting that “the capital city of Kyiv will fall in 72 hours and Ukraine will surrender”.

But Ukraine will hold out.

What happened then?

This time, the aides who support President Zelensky responded to NHK's coverage and testified to the tense behind-the-scenes immediately after the invasion began.

I have learned that there have been moments of danger.

We approach the origin of this war that greatly shook Ukraine and the world.

(NHK Special "Military Invasion of the President of Ukraine, 72 Hours of Tension" Reporting Team)

February 24, 2022 at 5 am

First Lady Olena Zelenska.

She described how President Zelensky looked when the military invasion began.

First Lady Olena Zelenska

: "I was woken up by an unfamiliar sound. It was five o'clock in the morning. I thought something was wrong. I didn't see my husband, so I went to the next room and he was gone. I was getting dressed and I was like, 'What happened?

’ And he said, ‘It started.’ He was as calm as possible, and as nervous as possible.

Unexpected invasion from neighboring country Belarus

Early morning on February 24th.

More than 100 missiles were fired across Ukraine, and from the ground up to 190,000 Russian troops gathered along the border began to invade Ukraine.

President Zelensky immediately sent a message from his mobile phone to the public, urging them to "keep calm."

However, at this time, President Zelensky and his colleagues were faced with an unexpected situation.

It was an attack from neighboring Belarus.

Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov.

In fact, two days before the invasion, he had a phone call with Belarusian Defense Minister Vlenin.

Defense Minister Reznikov

: The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus not only swore to me that ``nothing threatens Ukraine from the Belarusian side'', he also said ``I promise as a soldier'': ``Aggression from the Belarusian side'' It is impossible.”

Defense Minister Reznikov called Belarus because of what he felt was a threat.

Prior to the invasion, since February 10, joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises had been held near the Ukrainian border.

Initially, the exercise was scheduled to last 10 days, but since there was no movement to withdraw even after that period, they tried to directly confirm the intention with the Belarusian side.

At this time, the Belarusian Defense Minister promised that there would be no possibility of an invasion from the Belarusian side. rice field.

Defense Minister Reznikov

: "The biggest threat that the Ukrainian military command considered was an invasion from the east. There are threats from Belarus. But those threats are nothing more than a deterrent to keep our troops from moving to the east." The Belarusian Defense Minister betrayed the honor of a military man, in such cases a military man would take a pistol and shoot at Russia, if he was a true military man, but unfortunately Belarus does not I didn't have the courage."

The straight line distance from the Belarusian border to Kyiv is 80 km.

Suddenly, Kiew faced the danger of falling.

Crisis of Capital Fall

About six hours after Putin announced the invasion, about 40 Russian military helicopters from Belarus launched a surprise attack.

The target is Antonov Airport, an important base for the defense of the capital.

It is located on the outskirts of Kyiv, about 30 kilometers from the Presidential Palace, where President Zelensky works.

By the way, this is the home port of the world's largest transport plane "Muriya", and it can accept aircraft of all sizes.

If this place is taken away, troops will be sent in one after another by large transport planes of the Russian military, and the defense of Kiu will be hopeless.

Defense Minister Reznikov

: "They were going to take over all the airfields around Kyiv. They wanted to take over the airfields and build a strong base there. The Russian army was pouring reinforcements there one after another. I will send it in."

Ukrainian army caught off guard.

Surveillance cameras at the airport recorded a one-sided attack by the Russian military, with little counterattack.

At this time, only inexperienced soldiers were guarding the airport.

Antonov Airport Defense Force Commander

: “As of February 24, most of the Ukrainian army was in the East, and my unit consisted mainly of conscripts. When I asked my subordinate, 'Why don't you shoot?', he replied, 'I ran out of ammunition.'

On the other hand, it was the Russian army's elite paratroopers that ambushed the airport.

They seem to have investigated the structure of the airport, and they took over the control tower first.

At 4:00 p.m., roughly 11 hours into the invasion, Antonov Airport was under Russian control.

Nightmare of Chernobyl

Around the same time, an unexpected location was under attack by Russian forces.

Prime Minister Shmyhali held an emergency press conference.

Prime Minister Denis Shmyhali

: "We regret to inform you that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been occupied by Russian forces."

Thirty-seven years ago, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was devastated by an explosion.

Even now, it is surrounded by a steel shelter to prevent the scattering of radioactive materials, and is under strict control.

About 500 heavily armed Russian soldiers also attacked here.

Advisor to the Presidential Office, Podoljak, who received a report of the situation at the Presidential Office at this time.

Advisor to the President Mikhail Podoljak

: "I was really shocked. This facility is dangerous. It's a crisis not only for Ukraine, but for the entire Eastern Europe. It means that it is an abnormal group.”

The person in charge of safety management at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant testified that the Russian military justified his actions by saying, "We came here to protect the nuclear power plant from terrorism."

Chernobyl nuclear power plant safety manager

: “They said, ``We have received an order to put the nuclear power plant under guard because there is a possibility that Ukrainian extremists may commit terrorist acts.'' I told the Russian soldiers, ``We I asked him if he was aware that he was carrying out nuclear terrorism.” The Russian soldier was just grinning.”

And suddenly, after a while, the Russian soldiers took an unexpected and dangerous action.

They have started cutting the power lines that carry the electricity needed to cool the spent nuclear fuel.

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant faced the threat of a radioactive leak.

The officials desperately persuaded the Russian soldiers that "if things continue as they are, the ash of death will fall not only on Europe but also on Russia."

The power supply was restored at the last minute, preventing the worst from happening.

Chernobyl nuclear power plant safety manager

: “Of course we were all frightened. It’s a nightmare.”

Mikhaylo Podoljak, Advisor to the President's Office

: "The behavior of the Russian soldiers at the nuclear power plant was such that they didn't even understand what this facility was about. It could have been an accident at any moment. I couldn't believe it."

Ukraine seeks arms aid, West unwilling to provoke Russia

12 hours and 40 minutes after the invasion began.

President Zelensky appeared for the first time in a khaki T-shirt.

and expressed his resentment towards his international community.

President Volodymyr Zelensky

: "Leaders of Europe and the free world, if you do not support us strongly now, tomorrow war will knock on your door."

President Zelensky appealed in a strong tone, occasionally banging his hands on the table.

In fact, there was a background to that resentment.

Nine years ago, Russia unilaterally annexed Crimea, part of Ukraine's territory.

Faced with the threat, Ukraine has turned to the United States and European countries for military assistance.

However, there was always a big wall standing in the way.

It was the attitude of the West that it did not want to provoke Russia.

Minister of Defense Reznikov

: “I asked Washington for the stinger, a portable surface-to-air missile. The answer was ‘impossible’. 'The West said, 'Providing arms will provoke Russia and invite aggression.'"

The attitude of the Western countries did not change even after the military invasion began.

Advisor to the President Podoljak

: “Our Western partners thought we would be gone in three or four days.

Ukraine will not be able to defend its independence.

We sympathize and weep.

But we will wait and see," they said. Already when we were under attack, the attitude of our partners towards Ukraine did not change significantly. "We are afraid of Russia. So it's like saying, 'I gave up on Ukraine'."

72 hours of tension and the quagmire that followed

The Ukrainian army expected an attack from the east and south, and not an invasion from the northern Belarusian side.

The Russian army attacked strategically important bases one after another, and by the night of the first day, the capital city of Kyiv was close at hand.

On the first day of the invasion, the capital Kiu was already in danger of falling.

And from the next day onwards, the situation becomes even more tense.

Invasion of tank troops into Kyiv city and urban warfare.

Attempt by Russian agents to assassinate President Zelensky.

A surrender recommendation from Russia and a proposal to escape from the capital from Europe and the United States.

However, on the third day, an anomaly appears in the movements of the Russian army.

The Ukrainian army's strong counterattack slowed the Russian invasion.

It turns out that one of the reasons for this was the Ukrainian military's covert operations and the Russian military's miscalculations.

In fact, at the beginning of the invasion, the Russian military planned to destroy the main air defense system of the Ukrainian military with missile attacks.

However, anticipating an invasion, the Ukrainian military secretly moved fighter planes and air defense missiles from their usual deployment locations about a month ago, throwing the Russian military's initial plans into disarray. .

The head of Ukraine's security department testifies to part of the covert operation:

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the Council of State Security and Defense

, said: "A tremendous task was carried out, which the enemy did not expect. In the beginning, when the enemy was madly launching missile attacks, he attacked us with this attack. We believed we had finished the attack, but the enemy was just firing missiles at unimportant locations."

These miscalculations compounded the failure of Russia's initial plan to quickly capture the capital and force Ukraine to surrender.

In early April, Russian troops withdrew from around Kyiv.

Then, the Russian army once again concentrated its military power in the eastern and southern parts of the country, embarking on a strategy to broaden its territory.

Thus began the ongoing battle with no exit in sight.

NHK Special "Ukrainian Presidential Office Military Invasion / 72 Hours of Tension" Broadcast from 9:00 pm on Sunday, February 26

Russia's invasion of Ukraine shocked the world.

The West, knowing that Kyiv would fall in 72 hours, prepared an escape helicopter for President Zelensky.

However, the president refused this and declared to the world on the following day, 25th, "We are in Kyiv. We will fight to defend our independence."

Aides surrounding the president at this time responded to NHK's coverage.

A behind-the-scenes look at the tensions that changed the fate of Ukraine and the world.

There is a missed delivery until one week after the broadcast

Kazuho Kimura

Joined

NHK

in 2009

Mainly engaged in the production of human documentaries.

He has been covering Ukraine since the military invasion.

His favorite Ukrainian dishes are borscht and salo (salted pork fat).

Tomohiro Yanai ,

director

of the social program department of the news

station Joined NHK in 2015

After working at the Sapporo station and Ohayo Nippon,

he has been involved in the production of news programs and documentaries.

his favorite food is spaghetti