When did Russia launch a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, marking a major escalation of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War?

The correct answer is February 24, 2022 because this date marks the official launch of the full-scale Russian military invasion across multiple fronts in Ukraine.

• February 24, 2022: This is the correct choice. In the early morning hours, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a 'special military operation' during a televised broadcast. Immediately following the speech, missile strikes and ground forces crossed into Ukrainian territory from Russia, Belarus, and Crimea, escalating a conflict that initially began back in 2014.


• Incorrect Options:
  
  
  
  • February 20, 2022: This is incorrect. While it marks the closing day of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics—a period during which intelligence analysts heavily monitored massive military buildups at the border—the actual physical invasion had not yet been launched.
  
  
  • February 26, 2022: This is incorrect. This was the third day of active warfare, characterized by heavy fighting inside suburban defense lines like the Battle of Kyiv, rather than the initial launch date.
  
  
  • None of these: This is incorrect because Option 2 tracks the exact historical timeline of the invasion.