Putin says ‘war’ – aloud – instead of 'special military operation' - The Washington Post

“Our extremity is not to rotation this flywheel of a subject conflict, but, connected the contrary, to extremity this war,” Putin said during a televised quality league pursuing a authorities gathering connected Thursday. “This is what we are striving for.”

Exactly what Putin has been striving for has been a taxable of overmuch consternation and debate, particularly successful Ukraine, wherever thousands person been killed and cities person been flattened, and successful Western capitals that person sent billions successful weapons and economical assistance to Kyiv to assistance the state withstand Russia’s aggression.

Putin has alternately said that helium is seeking to “de-Nazify” Ukraine, to “liberate” Russian-speaking regions successful the southeast of the country, and to halt NATO countries, particularly the United States, from trying to destruct Russia. He has denied wanting to conquer the state and topple the government, an assertion undermined by his failed effort to invade and inhabit Kyiv.

What Putin had not said until Thursday was that the warring successful Ukraine, immoderate the goal, is, successful fact, a “war.”

Putin utilized the word “special subject operation” successful his aboriginal greeting announcement connected Feb. 24, the time his full-scale penetration began. It seemed beryllium an effort to accent that what was astir to unfold would not drastically impact the lives of mean Russian. Instead, helium sold the thought of a constricted cognition conducted by a tiny fig of nonrecreational soldiers.

After respective days of antiwar protests successful Russia and captious sum successful the past fewer remaining autarkic media outlets, the Russian authorities rushed to suppress disapproval and efficaciously mandate the usage of “special subject operation” by passing draconian laws to prohibit “spreading fakes” and “discrediting” the army, which fundamentally made it amerciable to telephone the warfare a “war.”

Mass protests were crushed and galore Russians fled the state fearing prosecution. The fewer remaining activists who took to the streets to bash solo pickets were instantly swept distant by the constabulary and fined, adjacent immoderate who held up blank pieces of paper.

By October, Russian instrumentality enforcement had initiated astir 5,000 administrative cases based connected the caller laws, meaning the defendants were apt fixed hefty fines. And determination were much than a 100 transgression cases successful which those prosecuted faced sentences of up to 15 years successful prison.

In aboriginal December, 1 absorption politician, Ilya Yashin, was sentenced to 8 years and six months successful situation connected charges of “spreading mendacious information” aft helium dissected Russian atrocities successful the metropolis of Bucha, adjacent Kyiv, successful an effort to debunk the authoritative Kremlin enactment that those reports were staged oregon fabricated to smear Russia.

Yashin’s condemnation was the harshest to day nether the caller laws. In July, Moscow municipal lawmaker Alexei Gorinov was sentenced to 7 years successful situation connected akin charges aft helium opened a nationalist gathering with a infinitesimal of soundlessness for those dying successful the war.

On Thursday, critics of Putin and his war, reacted furiously to the president’s utterance of the connection “war.”

“Alexei Gorinov was sentenced to 7 years for calling the warfare a warfare astatine a gathering of the assembly of deputies,” tweeted Georgy Alburov, an exiled state of the jailed Russian absorption leader, Alexei Navalny. “Vladimir Putin contiguous besides publically called the warfare a warfare astatine his workplace. So either merchandise Gorinov oregon enactment Putin successful jailhouse for 7 years.”

Most autarkic media person been forced retired of the country, and hundreds of thousands of Russians fled what the Kremlin called “a partial mobilization” that disrupted Putin’s committedness of a swift and palmy warfare that won’t impact the livelihoods of civilians.

The laws person been enforced selectively to people longtime Putin critics, portion pro-war hawks and authorities tv propagandists are allowed to knock Russian subject commanders for dense battlefield losses and adjacent usage the connection warfare without penalties.

Nikita Yuferev, a municipal lawmaker from St. Petersburg who fled the state for his antiwar views but tin inactive execute the authoritative duties of his mandate remotely, said connected Thursday that helium had written a ailment against Putin, asking Russia’s authoritative wide to analyse the president’s statement.

“There was nary decree to extremity the peculiar operation, and nary warfare was declared,” Yuferev tweeted. “Several 1000 radical person already been prosecuted for specified words astir the war, truthful I’ve sent a petition to the authorities to complaint Putin with spreading fakes astir the army.”

The determination is symbolic and volition not beryllium acted upon by instrumentality enforcement. But it underscores however selective prosecution has go the norm successful the Russian judicial strategy nether Putin’s rule, with antithetic standards successful spot for citizens depending connected their level of enactment for the president.

Pro-war Russian commentators person been permitted to level withering disapproval astatine the Russian subject and its commanders implicit battlefield losses and different missteps, including a botched mobilization of 300,000 caller soldiers.

In his remarks connected Thursday, Putin dismissed the U.S. determination to proviso Ukraine with its astir precocious aerial defence weapon, the Patriot rocket system, which was formally announced by President Biden during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s sojourn to Washington connected Wednesday.

Putin described the determination arsenic an insignificant development. “Patriot is simply a alternatively aged strategy and does not enactment similar our S-300,” He said, referring to Russia’s mainstay aerial defence system. “We’ll conscionable support it successful caput and determination volition beryllium an antidote,” Putin said. “We’ll sound down Patriots.”

Putin connected Thursday besides repeated his oft-made assertion that the U.S. and NATO were liable for the struggle successful Ukraine, saying: “It each started successful 2014 aft the coup d’etat provoked by the United States.”

Asked if helium felt the “operation” has been going connected excessively long, Putin replied with a Russian idiom astir however large goals are achieved small by small — the latest motion helium has nary program to extremity the warfare that helium is present consenting to telephone a war. “The intensification of hostilities leads to unjustified losses,” Putin said. “And arsenic they say, ‘the hen pecks atom by grain.’”