"On conducting a special military operation" () was a televised broadcast by Russian president Vladimir Putin on 24 February 2022, announcing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It addressed the citizens of Russia and Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Russia and Ukraine, and the international community. Putin announced that Russia was launching a "special military operation" to defend the Russian-controlled territories in eastern Ukraine—the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic—under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. The two separatist regions had been at war with Ukraine since 2014, and Russia had recently become the first state to recognize them as independent. Putin claimed that Ukraine had been committing genocide against Russian speakers in the region; that Ukraine's government were neo-Nazis under Western control; that Ukraine was developing nuclear weapons; and that NATO was building up military infrastructure in Ukraine, which was a threat to Russia. These allegations were widely rejected as untrue.
Putin said Russia sought the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine, claimed Russia had no plans to occupy Ukrainian land, and threatened severe consequences for any country that intervened. The invasion began immediately after Putin's announcement.
Address
On 24 February 2022, at 5:30 a.m. Moscow Time, state television channels broadcast a new address by Russian president Vladimir Putin. In this speech, he talked about the following points:
NATO-backed Ukraine as an "anti-Russia" state
In his speech, Putin spoke about the impossibility of reaching an agreement with NATO on equal terms and accused the military alliance of expanding to the east. Putin mentioned the enlargement of NATO often in his address, calling it and the military development of Ukraine "unacceptable". He said:
Putin said Ukraine was becoming an "anti-Russia" state, with it being supplied by other NATO members with "the most modern weapons", saying:
Announcement of a "special military operation" in Ukraine's Donbas
Putin announced the start of a "special military operation" in the Donbas region, citing Article 51 of the UN Charter (on the right to self-defence), the decision of the Federation Council on the use of Russian troops in Ukraine and agreements with the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). He said:
Days earlier, on 21 February, Russia officially recognised the DPR and the LPR as independent states, which were agreements with the DNR and LNR referred to by Putin. They were ratified by the State Duma and the Federation Council. He said the purpose of the "operation" was to "protect the people" in the predominantly Russian-speaking region of Donbas who, according to Putin, "for eight years now, have been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kyiv regime". Putin also stated that Russia sought the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine.
Call to the Ukrainian people
Putin called on the Ukrainian military to "immediately lay down their arms and go home", saying: "All servicemen of the Ukrainian army who comply with this requirement will be able to freely leave the combat zone and return to their families. All responsibility for possible bloodshed will be entirely on the conscience of the ruling regime on the territory of Ukraine." Addressing the citizens of Ukraine, he linked Russia's actions with self-defense against the threats created for it and "an even greater disaster than the one that is happening today", saying: "No matter how hard it is, I ask you to understand this and call for interaction in order to turn this tragic page and move forward together."
Putin stated there were no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory and that he supported the right of the peoples of Ukraine to self-determination, saying:
Warning against international intervention
At the end of the address, Putin warned other countries against intervening in the conflict, saying:
Beginning of the invasion
Putin's address was aired during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Ukraine that began on the evening of 23 February. At the meeting itself, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's representative to the UN, stated: "We are not carrying out aggression against the Ukrainian people, but against the group that seized power in Kyiv."