Russia Admits It's 'In State of War' Two Years Into Ukraine Invasion

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," he said.

The Context

The Kremlin line until now has been that the conflict that began on February 24, 2022, is a "special military operation" and not a war.

Russian citizens have been convicted for referring to the conflict as a war or for describing Moscow's attack on Ukraine as an invasion under stringent laws passed in March 2022 to crack down on dissent.

What We Know

Peskov may have breached Russia's own censorship laws that have seen citizens jailed for using the word "war" to refer to the conflict in Ukraine.

Russia's parliament passed legislation in March 2022 imposing jail terms of up to 15 years for intentionally spreading "fake" news about Russia's army. The Kremlin has used the law to crack down on those who veer away from Putin's narrative of the war, including describing the conflict as a "special military operation."

Russian President Vladimir Putin himself appeared to slip up in December 2022 when he called the conflict in Ukraine a "war" for the first time.

Speaking with reporters, Putin advocated for an end to the "war."

"Our aim is not to fan the flames of this military conflict, on the contrary, it is to end this war," he said at the time.

Putin still refers to the conflict as a "special military operation," although he has ramped up his nuclear rhetoric and tirades against the West since French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that NATO members could send ground troops to Ukraine.

Kremlin propagandist and Russian TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov, nicknamed "Putin's voice" for his stridently pro-Kremlin views, also used the word "war" to describe situation in Ukraine on his Russia-1 show, Evening with Vladimir Solovyov, in October 2022.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's foreign ministry for comment.

Views

Some observers of the war on social media have speculated that Peskov's statement could signal that Russia could soon announce a partial or total mobilization.

"Meanwhile Putin spokesman Peskov says Russia has moved from "special military operation" to 'state of war.' Possibly a signal they are preparing ground for extra mobilisation," Oliver Carroll, foreign correspondent for The Economist, said on X, formerly Twitter.

What's Next?

Konstantin Sonin, a Russian-born political economist from the University of Chicago, previously told Newsweek that one factor deterring Putin from an open mass mobilization was that the propaganda narrative being pushed is that Russia is not waging a war, but is conducting a limited-scale military operation.

"This is what he is fed in the army and police reports, and this is the language that he speaks to his subordinates and the general public, Sonin said. "Announcing a mobilization in the open will be a drastic departure from this worldview, almost like bursting from an informational bubble."

Sonin explained that even if Putin does attempt to draft more men for the war, it will be accompanied by rhetoric claiming nothing new is happening.

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