The scene in Rivne, Ukraine – as of 9pm Irish time
It is striking that 24 hours after the invasion was launched, Russian tanks were at the gates of Kyiv.
That indicates that Vladimir Putin has wanted this to be a swift operation to decapacitate the Ukrainian government.
Indeed, he called on the Ukrainian military to overthrow the government in Kyiv.
But if this does start to take longer, if Russian troops start to get more resistance from the Ukrainian military, perhaps even in a period of time it becomes a partisan operation – more of a guerilla-type operation – by the outnumbered Ukrainian military, that could start to cause problems for Vladimir Putin.
Europe Editor Tony Connelly and cameraman Bram Verbeke are in Rivne in western Ukraine, 320km from the capital Kyiv. | Live updates: https://t.co/Bfl1cInfIV pic.twitter.com/TAI06rNuAS
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) February 25, 2022
Also, bear in mind the impact of international sanctions and, also, there is a clear-cut moral perspective to this invasion.
It is not a grey situation.
This appears to be a fairly black-and-white case of the aggression of one state against another.
There could also be a burgeoning anti-war sentiment in Russia, although it has been crushed in its infancy so far.
But there is a viral effect of solidarity across the globe for the Ukrainian people.
We have seen it in Dublin, we have seen it in many other capitals. And that may be something that Putin has not factored in.
It will contribute to this notion - which is gaining ground both diplomatically and economically - of Russia being turned into a pariah state.
The next few days are going to be intriguing for the Russian President.
