Russia is in a state of war – Kremlin

THE Kremlin said yesterday it is in a “state of war” in Ukraine, escalating the official language it uses to describe the conflict, now in its third year.

Russia has presented its offensive on Ukraine as a “special military operation”, banned media outlets from using the word “war” and prosecuted anti-offensive campaigners for using the word to describe Russia’s military actions.

“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,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in an interview to a pro-kremlin newspaper published yesterday.

Asked to elaborate, Peskov told reporters later: “De jure it is a special military operation.

“But de facto it has turned into a war.”

President Vladimir Putin has previously said the West had unleashed a “hybrid war” against Moscow, but largely stuck to calling the conflict in Ukraine a “special military operation”.

Peskov also said that when it came to the prosecution of anti-conflict campaigners for using the word “war”, the context of his comments was different.

“The word ‘war’ is used in different contexts. Compare my context with those in the cases you cite,” Peskov said in response to a question about criminal cases brought against anti-kremlin protestors.

Russia passed sweeping military censorship laws in the days after it sent troops into Ukraine that allow it to send critics of the offensive to jail for years if they are found to have spread “false information” or “discredited” the armed forces.

More than 900 criminal cases have been launched over the past two years for opposing the conflict, according to the OVD-INFO rights group.

In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the West to deliver air defence systems to Kyiv after an overnight Russian missile attack injured 17 in the capital and surrounding region.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 31 Russian missiles targeting Kyiv, an attack that came after Moscow vowed to respond to an escalation in Ukrainian strikes on its border regions.

Russia fired more than 60 Shahed drones and nearly 90 missiles in a vast overnight attack, Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app.

“Such terror continues every day and night,” he said.

“It is possible to put an end to it through global unity ... Russian terrorists do not have missiles capable of bypassing Patriot and other leading world systems,” Zelensky said.

“This protection is required in Ukraine now.

“From Kyiv to Kharkiv, Sumy to Kherson, and Odesa to the Donetsk region.

“This is entirely possible if our partners demonstrate sufficient political will,” Zelensky said.

A $60 billion (R1.1 trillion) US military aid package for Ukraine is held up in Congress amid domestic political arguments.

Russia’s defence ministry said on Thursday that it had targeted Ukrainian military sites with “long-range high-precision weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles”.

The attacks come after a sharp escalation in Ukrainian strikes on Russian border regions and oil refineries over the past two weeks.

And last week, the Belgorod region and a neighbouring province were rocked by a series of brazen crossborder raids by pro-ukrainian Russian militias.

A coalition of the Russian fighters told a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday they would continue raiding Russian territory, and would “soon go to other cities”.

Their comments come after Putin vowed to restore security to the border areas and said that Russia had a plan to deliver victory against Kyiv.

Moscow’s forces are seeking to press their advantage in manpower and ammunition on the frontlines, amid the delays to Western aid for Ukraine.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed on Thursday to have captured the village of Tonenke in east Ukraine, around 10km from the city of Avdiivka, which fell to Russian forces last month. | AFP and Reuters