By 3 p.m. on February 24th, 2022, the first day of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian forces had been forced to pull back to the perimeter of the strategic site.

This single moment was the point of maximum danger and vulnerability for the survival of the modern Ukrainian state.

Having taken the airfield in an air assault, the Russians now had the opportunity to land massive cargo planes filled with armored vehicles and thousands of troops, right in the suburbs of Kyiv.