Russia finally admits it is „at war”
Russia has finally admitted to its own people that it is not simply involved in a „special operation”, but a war. However, Russia is not to blame for this state of affairs – according to the Kremlin’s spokesperson.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.Photo: PAP/ITAR-TASS/Tatyana Makeyeva
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov introduced the key change of language speaking to the weekly Russian newspaper Arguments and Facts. Peskov tried to soften the change saying that „de jure” it remained a „military operation,” but „de facto” had become a war.
In Russia it is forbidden to refer to Russia’s aggression as an „invasion” or „war”, doing so can lead to imprisonment. Reuters has suggested the change may be to prepare the Russian people for further hardships ahead as the war drags on and perhaps escalates.
Russia has blamed two parties for the change of status – Ukraine and NATO. He said Ukraine was to blame as an aggressor, threatening ethnic Russians in what is in fact Russian-occupied Ukraine.
The Kremlin spokesman blamed NATO, in turn, for the escalation from a special operation to a war: „when the collective West became a participant in this on the side of Ukraine, it became a war for us.”
Sources: Kyiv Independent, Reuters
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