The Kremlin says Russia is in a 'state of war' in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Russia is in a “state of war” in Ukraine, an apparent change in Kremlin language after the election win.

The Kremlin said Friday that Russia is in a “state of war” in Ukraine, direct language that fueled questions about whether it signaled a change in approach following the landslide election victory claimed by President Vladimir Putin to extend his rule.

“Yes, it began as a special military operation, 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,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in comments to the pro-Kremlin Argumenty i Fakty newspaper.

“I am convinced of this. And everyone should understand this for their own internal mobilization,” Peskov added.

The comments quickly drew attention in Russia and abroad, where observers of the war are watching for signs that the Kremlin is readying its public for deeper and prolonged involvement in Ukraine, including a second wave of mobilization to beef up its military ranks as the conflict enters a third year.

The Kremlin has insisted on calling its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine a “special military operation,” and censorship laws adopted in the early days of the war have allowed authorities to arrest or even jail people who criticize Russia’s actions in Ukraine or simply use the word “war.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/kremlin-russia-state-of-war-ukraine-putin-west-peskov-rcna144606

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