‘We are at war’: Putin spokesman says invasion of Ukraine has grown beyond ‘special military operation’

Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has grown from a “special military operation” into a full-fledged war as a result of the West’s involvement.

“We are at war,” Peskov told journalists. “Yes, it began as a special military operation, but as soon as this clique of countries formed, when the collective West got involved on the side of Ukraine, it became a war for us. That I’m sure of. And everyone must understand this for the sake of their own internal mobilization.”

The Russian authorities have insisted on referring to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation” since it began. Under Russia’s wartime censorship laws, citizens who call the conflict a war can face lengthy prison sentences for spreading “disinformation” or “discrediting the military.”

Update: Asked at a press conference later whether his comments mean that the legal status of Russia’s “special military operation” has changed, Peskov said that it hasn’t. “This is de jure a special military operation, but it turned into a de facto war for us after the collective West started getting more and more directly involved in the conflict,” he told journalists.