Russia is in “a state of war” in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said for the first time, more than two years after the conflict began.
“We are in a state of war. Yes, it started as a special military operation, but as soon as this bunch was formed there, when the collective West became a participant on Ukraine’s side, for us it already became a war,” Peskov said in an interview with newspaper Argumenty i Fakty (Arguments and Facts), published on Friday.
“I am convinced of that. And everyone should understand this, for their internal motivation.”
The Kremlin line until now has been that conflict that began on February 24, 2022, is a “special military operation” and not an “all-out war.”
Russian citizens have been convicted for referring to the ongoing conflict as a “war” or as an “invasion” under stringent laws passed in March 2022 to crack down on dissent.
GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.