The View Adopts a Somber Tone to Discuss Putin's Attack on Ukraine

The View attempted to strike the right tone Thursday morning as the co-hosts discussed Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The co-hosts turned things over to ABC News' Martha Raddatz, who has spent the week in Lviv, Ukraine reporting on the escalating conflict. "Their cause here, and what they've done is just simply inexcusable," explained Raddatz, making the stakes of Putin's attack clear. "We are talking about lives. We are talking about history. We are talking about "the worst conventional war on the European continent since World War II."

Rather than allow the co-hosts to freely discuss the issue (which, as we've seen, doesn't always go great), The View opted for a Q&A with Raddatz, who called in from western Ukraine, about 50 miles from the border with Poland. "To hear air raid sirens going off this morning is just devastating for people all over Ukraine," she said, explaining that the citizens of Lviv are preparing for the worst. "The people are lining up at banks, they're lining up at pharmacies, they're lining up for water."

When asked about Putin's claim that the invasion is a "peace-keeping operation," Raddatz insisted that this claim is false. "It is absolutely just a land grab," said the ABC News correspondent. "Calling these Russian forces peace-keepers is an insult to real peace-keepers. They are not keeping any peace. They are waging war here in Ukraine."

"To hear air raid sirens going off this morning is just devastating for people all over Ukraine."@ABC News' @MarthaRaddatz joins #TheView live from Lviv, Ukraine with the latest after Russia's military launched an invasion of Ukraine early Thursday. https://t.co/AvBNFhZr53 pic.twitter.com/3pRQq0ZlhA

— The View (@TheView) February 24, 2022

As for Republicans, including former President Trump, who have praised Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Raddatz is hopeful that this might serve as a wake-up call. "The love of Vladimir Putin is something that's startling to all of us," she said. "After what Vladimir Putin has done, invade a sovereign country and try to take it back for all sorts of reasons that make absolutely no sense, I hope people look up and listen and see exactly what he's doing and how horrendous this truly is."

While The View largely kept the segment informative, one aspect proved to be a major distraction: Sara Haines' Grease-inspired outfit. With her slick leather top and voluminous curls, it was difficult to take Haines seriously as she asked Raddatz serious questions about Putin's intentions. Perhaps The View's stylists could have saved this look for a day with lighter subject matter.

This is how #TheView decided to dress Sara Haines for a day of discussing Russia's invasion of Ukraine pic.twitter.com/z6Rf7978pF

— The View in Review (@theviewinreview) February 24, 2022

Claire Spellberg Lustig is the Senior Editor at Primetimer and a scholar of The View. Follow her on Twitter at @c_spellberg.