‘A Knife to the Throat’: Putin’s Logic for Invading Ukraine

At 10 p.m. in Moscow on Monday night, Russian state television interrupted its regular programming to air an address from President Vladimir V. Putin about the Ukraine crisis.

We look back on what Mr. Putin’s hourlong speech — remarkable for his overt display of emotion and grievance — revealed about his rationale for invading.

Guest: Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times.

Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at thedaily@nytimes.com. You can find more information and specific instructions here.

Background reading: 

• Mr. Putin’s speech sounded like a call to war, the culmination of a propaganda barrage orchestrated by Russian state media in recent days.
• The United States and its allies swiftly imposed economic sanctions on Russia for what President Biden denounced as the beginning of an “invasion of Ukraine.”

Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.