Special military operation
Russian term for the Russo-Ukrainian war
Summary
"Special military operation" is the official term used by the Russian government to describe the Russo-Ukrainian war. 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. Russia bans the use of the terms "war" or "invasion" in referring to its invasion of Ukraine, as well as discussion of the censorship itself.
Originally created by Sunfyre
2/24/2022, 12:53:05 PM
Modified
5/2/2026, 8:56:03 AM
Recent revisions
Dating maintenance tags: {{Needs update}}
/* */ This needs an update to say use of the word "war" is still banned in Russian political discourse. If not, this needs to be re-worded to say that calling this a war was prohibited at the start of the war, but not now.
Changing [[Wikipedia:Short description|short description]] from "Euphemism for the Russo-Ukrainian war" to "Russian term for the Russo-Ukrainian war"
/* Applications in Russian media */
Changing [[Wikipedia:Short description|short description]] from "Euphemism for Russia's invasion of Ukraine" to "Euphemism for the Russo-Ukrainian war"
removed [[Category:Naming controversies]]; added [[Category:Naming of war or conflict]] using [[WP:HC|HotCat]]
Invasion is the appropriate term.
/* History */ ce last bullet point
/* See also */ removed large amount of irrelevant and POV terminology from the "See also" section. This article is specifically about the term used for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, not a generic article about euphemisms.
this public address doesn't have official title
/* History */ ce
/* Analogous euphemisms from other countries */
/* History */
clean up, replaced: journal=The Proceedings of English Language Teaching, Literature, and Translation (ELTLT) → journal=The Proceedings of English Language Teaching, Literature, and Translation
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Quick cleanup per [[WP:NOPIPE]]; sp. "Volodomyr" → "Volodymyr"
Altered eissn. Add: date, authors 1-2. | [[:en:WP:UCB|Use this bot]]. [[:en:WP:DBUG|Report bugs]]. | Suggested by Metamd | [[Category:CS1 errors: ISSN]] | #UCB_Category 16/17
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