On the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 2024-02-24, notable absences and silence marked the day. No senior Biden administration officials were present in Kyiv to commemorate the date. Simultaneously, on 2024-02-26, Russian officials and state-controlled media largely avoided public discussions about the anniversary. This avoidance is interpreted as an effort to not highlight Russia's unmet war aims and the significant human costs associated with the conflict. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted this silence as a tactic to cover up the perceived failures of the invasion.
Russian TV avoids mention of Ukraine war anniversary amid "failures" https://t.co/iM68jp14ZJ https://t.co/mgEZ0ZuRwH
🤡 Russian authorities and state-run media keep silent on anniversary of invasion to cover up failure – ISW https://t.co/R73ewYThvF
⚡️ISW: Russian officials refrain from publicly discussing invasion anniversary. Russian officials and state-controlled media largely refrained from publicly discussing the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 to avoid highlighting Russia's failure…
NEW: Russian officials and state media largely refrained from publicly discussing the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, likely in an effort to avoid addressing Russia’s failure to achieve its stated war aims at significant human… https://t.co/mv7DTzoPBt
Notable: No senior Biden administration officials in Kyiv today to mark second anniversary of Russia launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.