"Special military operation"[a] (also "special operation," and abbreviated as "SVO"[b]) is a euphemism[1][2][3][4] used by the Russian government and pro-Russian sources to describe the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022.[5][6]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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