Euphemism for Russia's invasion of Ukraine
This article is about the term used by the Russian government. For special military activities in general, see
Special operations .
"СВО" redirects here. Not to be confused with the non-Cyrillic
CBO .
A banner of the Russian Ministry of Defence with the phrase "special military operation"
"Special military operation "[ a] (also "special operation ", and abbreviated as "SMO " or "SVO ", or Russian : спецопера́ция , romanized : spetsoperatsiya , Ukrainian : спецопера́ція ) is the official term used by the Russian government to describe the Russian invasion of Ukraine .[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4] It is widely considered a euphemism intended to minimize the invasion and obfuscate the war's original objective of annexing all Russophone regions of Ukraine.[ 5] [ 6] [ 7] [ 8] Russia bans the use of the terms "war" or "invasion" in referring to its invasion of Ukraine,[ 9] [ 10] as well as discussion of the censorship itself.[ 11]
The expression appears prominently in the public address by President of Russia Vladimir Putin titled "On conducting a special military operation ", released on 24 February 2022.
The term "special military operation" has been used in Ukrainian media in specific contexts, generally in scare quotes , to mock or criticise the Russian intervention.[ 5]
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^ "Do not call Ukraine invasion a 'war', Russia tells media, schools" . Al Jazeera . 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023.
^ Abdul, Geneva (13 March 2023). "Russia-Ukraine war: Xi to visit Russia as early as next week; Moscow says it could agree to shorter Black Sea grain deal – as it happened" . The Guardian . Retrieved 2 April 2023 . "Special military operation" has been Russia's preferred term for the invasion of Ukraine which it launched on 24 February 2022
^ Marina Konstantinova (8 November 2023). "Russia: New school history books seek to justify Ukraine war" . Deutsche Welle . Retrieved 1 January 2024 . "Special military operation" is the term the Kremlin uses to describe its war against Ukraine
^ "Zelenskyy speaks of war, Putin makes passing reference in contrasting New Year speeches" . CNBC . 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024 . This year, he called Russia's soldiers "our heroes," but did not mention Ukraine by name and did not refer to the "special military operation" - his term for the war his invasion unleashed in February 2022
^ a b Spišiaková, Mária; Shumeiko, Natalia (2022). "Language and politics. On the border between linguistics and political science VII" (PDF) . Political Euphemisms and Neologisms in Online Media Content: Amid the War in Ukraine (in Slovak). University of Economics in Bratislava : 372– 388. ISBN 9788022549875 . Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2023.
^ Ilyushina, Mary (22 December 2022). "Putin declares 'war' – aloud – forsaking his special euphemistic operation" . The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 22 December 2022.
^ Faulconbridge, Guy (8 June 2023). "In Russia, the talk is of 'war' - even from Putin" . Reuters . Archived from the original on 25 July 2023.
^ Pifer, Steven (10 March 2022). "Russia vs. Ukraine: How does this end?" . Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies . Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. On February 24, Vladimir Putin launched the Russian military on what he termed a 'special military operation,' his euphemism for a massive invasion of Ukraine.
^ AFP (26 February 2022). "Russia Bans Media Outlets From Using Words 'War,' 'Invasion' " . The Moscow Times . Retrieved 13 September 2024 .
^ "Russia Takes Censorship to New Extremes, Stifling War Coverage" . The New York Times . Retrieved 13 September 2024 .
^ Reporter, Isabel van Brugen News (14 March 2022). "Russia Arrests Multiple People for Holding Up Blank Signs" . Newsweek . Retrieved 13 September 2024 .