Referring to the military mobilization and “mobilization of spirits” being carried out in Russia, he said, “I firmly believe this, and everyone must understand it to do it.”
In this interview, Peskov also recalled the Kremlin's intention to fully seize the four Ukrainian regions (Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia) that Moscow claims as annexation territory from September 2022.
“De jure”, it was a special military operation, but in reality it turned into a war,” Dmitry Peskov added.
Over the past two years, the Kremlin has cracked down on the use of the word “war” with fines and prison sentences, imposing the official discourse of “special military action.”
During the two-year conflict, many senior officials used the word “war” in public statements, but always in reference to the West's war against Russia over Ukraine, not in connection with the Russian offensive.
Asked about the fate of people convicted of using the word “war”, Peskov suggested that this did not mean that using the word “in an important context” was not allowed.
“The word 'war' is used in different contexts. Compare my context with the context of the cases (convictions) that cite it,” he said.
On social media, Russian analyst Tatyana Stanovaya was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying, however, that the Kremlin's official use of the term illustrates the crossing of a “psychological boundary” between the political elite and citizens.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, recently re-elected in an uncontested presidential election with 87% of the vote, has vowed to lead the country to victory against Kiev and the West in what he sees as a confrontation over Russia's “existence”. .