Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov, during a briefing with journalists, said that the “special military operation” after the intervention of the West turned into a war for Russia.
“Basically, after the collective West entered, it turned into a war for us. This is not related to any legal changes. This is a special military operation de jure, but de facto, for us it turned into a war after the collective West more and more directly increases the level of its involvement in the conflict,” Peskov said.
On the journalist responded that many people in Russia were convicted for publishing pacifist slogans, namely for the phrase “No to war.” Putin's spokesman called it an «inappropriate comparison» because «in different contexts, the word 'war' is used differently.» is used.» “You just compare what context I have and what context is in the cases that you cite,” concluded Peskov.
At the same time, in a conversation with employees of the newspaper “Arguments and Facts,” Peskov expressed himself more harshly: “We We are in a state of war. Yes, it started out as a Northern Military District, but as soon as this group was formed there, when the collective West became a participant in this on the side of Ukraine, for us it already became a war. I am convinced of this. And everyone must understand this for their own internal mobilization.”
This is not the first time Peskov has spoken out in this way. On February 15 of this year, he also reported that “the Northern Military District began as an operation against Ukraine with specific goals, but it continues in fact as a war with the collective West and the North Atlantic Alliance.” He said the same thing the day before: “This is a war when the countries of the collective West, led by the United States, are directly involved in the conflict.”