I'm often intrigued by the use of passive voice in language. This is a particularly interesting one to me. I don't mean this as a criticism of samsolomon. I just find language and its connection to thought and action interesting.

A war did something, as if all by itself. That expression contains so much dangerous obfuscation, but also potential for insight. Russia attacked Ukraine, and in this way "a war broke out".

In the parent comment, the details are not the point. The passive voice serves well to get to the point the author is trying to make. Yet at the same time it reinforces the point to which the author is responding. It glosses over the horror of the war so that we can get to the interesting parts.