Late night hosts celebrate 'twosday,' joke darkly about Putin's Ukraine invasion

Russian President Vladimir Putin has started his Ukraine invasion, Stephen Colbert grimaced on Tuesday's Late Show. "Why is Putin sending troops into a place that's not his country? He claims it's to carry out 'peacekeeping functions.' And it's true: 'I keep this piece of Ukraine, I keep that piece of Ukraine, I keep all the pieces of Ukraine!'"
President Biden responded Tuesday by hitting Russia with sanctions on two banks and its sovereign debt, which "means no Russian money can come into the U.S.," Colbert said. "There goes Tucker Carlson's sponsors."
Russia's invasion "makes for a very stressful and uncertain time on the ground in Ukraine, but there's one person having the time of his life: multilingual AP reporter Philip Crowther," Colbert said, showing Crowther's viral video. "Now, that looks impressive, but if you translate it, he's just repeating the phrase: 'Where is the library? I must use the bathroom urgently.'"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

The Late Show offered to teach you just one new language: Putin.
Yes, "a journalist in Ukraine was reporting the news on the Russia crisis in six different languages, and nailed it," Jimmy Fallon said on The Tonight Show. "He also knows six different ways to say 'I'm ready to leave Ukraine now.'" It is Twosday — 2-22-22 — something that "only happens once every 100 years," he added. "President Biden was like, 'I didn't care then, I didn't care now.'"
"The last time an all-2 date happened was Feb. 22, 1922," Jimmy Kimmel said on his Kimmel Live 2-22-22 Special. "American women had just recently won the right to vote, Amelia Earhart bought her first plane, now-President Joe Biden had just passed his first gallstone."
"The biggest No. 2 of them all, Donald Trump," launched his new social media platform Monday, "and you're not going to believe this, but the rollout did not go well," Kimmel said. "Truth Social has been such a disappointment so far, Trump may have to rename it to Don Jr." And as "Putin appears to be inching toward a full-scale attack on Ukraine," he added, "Trump, of course, called him a 'genius' and called the idea 'wonderful' today. What kind of hotel room hidden-camera video does that Putin have? We want to see it, already!"
"The social media platform Snapchat unveiled a new feature last week that allows users to share their real-time location with friends," Late Night's Seth Meyers said. "You can learn more about it in an upcoming episode of Dateline."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The state of Britain's Armed Forces
The Explainer Geopolitical unrest and the unreliability of the Trump administration have led to a frantic re-evaluation of the UK's military capabilities
By The Week UK
-
Anti-anxiety drug has a not-too-surprising effect on fish
Under the radar The fish act bolder and riskier
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Sudoku medium: April 21, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff
-
China accuses NSA of Winter Games cyberattacks
speed read China alleges that the U.S. National Security Agency launched cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games in February
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Russian strike kills dozens in Ukraine
Speed Read The Sumy ballistic missile strike was Russia's deadliest attack on civilians this year
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
South Korea court removes impeached president
Speed Read The Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol after his declaration of martial law in December
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Myanmar quake deaths rise as survivor search intensifies
speed read The magnitude-7.7 earthquake in central Myanmar has killed a documented 2,000 people so far, and left scores more trapped beneath rubble
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
Israel detains director after West Bank settler clash
speed read The director of Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' was arrested and beaten
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Turkey arrests Istanbul mayor, a top Erdogan rival
Speed Read Protests erupted in Turkey after authorities detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu
By Peter Weber, The Week US