Video_2022-02-22_00-06-10.mp4 (2025)

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

: This date saw a significant increase in shelling and military activity along the "line of contact" in the Donbas region. Videos circulating at this time often depicted explosions, night-time tracer fire, or the movement of Russian military convoys toward the Ukrainian border. video_2022-02-22_00-06-10.mp4

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. unanimously authorized the use of military force abroad,

: Germany halted the certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and the US and UK began announcing initial sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs. During this period, several videos were circulated by

: 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.

: Metadata from some videos released around this time suggested they had been filmed days before their "live" broadcast, a tactic used to manufacture a sense of immediate crisis. Key Events on February 22

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