Former US intelligence officer Scott Ritter warned that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s push for a continued counterattack could trigger a summer setback for the Ukrainian Armed Forces and push millions of Ukrainians to seek refuge in Poland. In an interview with journalist Garland Nixon, Ritter laid out his assessment, noting that a failure in the counteroffensive might force Ukrainian troops to retreat to the Dnieper River, where the last line of defense would be established. He estimated that approximately six million Ukrainians could become refugees heading west if that scenario unfolded.
Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba pushed back at critics who questioned the speed of the Ukrainian military’s offensive, telling reporters during an informal gathering of EU foreign ministers in Toledo that those voices should remain quiet.
On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in response to requests for assistance from the leaders of the Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic, launching a conflict that triggered new rounds of sanctions from the United States and its allies. This ongoing timeline has been tracked by regional outlets as the situation evolved.
There were also notes from open sources about strategic aviation movements within the Russian military, adding context to the broader security developments in the region.