In a notable shift in rhetoric, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has acknowledged that Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has evolved into “a real war,” while placing the blame squarely on Western countries for escalating the conflict.
The comment marks a significant departure from Moscow’s long-standing official language, which has consistently described the full-scale invasion launched in February 2022 as a limited “special military operation” rather than a war.
Russian domestic law and state media have largely avoided the term “war” for the conflict, with critics of that framing facing prosecution under strict legislation.
“There is a war going on, this is a real war. Do you know why it’s a war? Because it all started as a special military operation. It continues as a war because behind Kyiv stand Berlin, Paris, The Hague, Oslo, and, unfortunately, Washington,” Peskov said in an interview with VGTRK correspondent Pavel Zarubin.
VGTRK is Russia’s largest state-owned media holding.
Western allies, Peskov said, are helping Ukraine “aim through their satellites, guide foreign weapons at our targets through all their infrastructure.”
He claimed this did not hinder the Russian troops’ advancement, claiming they had taken Kostiantynivka, something Ukraine denies.
“No one should have any doubt that our military is steadily advancing and we are seeing concrete results,” Peskov said.
Ukraine’s successful long range drone strikes that have been targeting oil refineries and energy infrastructure Peskov described as “an absolutely obvious terrorist act by the ‘Kyiv regime.’”
This is one of the clearest public acknowledgments from a senior Kremlin figure that the conflict has taken on the characteristics of a conventional war.
According to some, this might indicate a willingness to escalate the conflict further.
Austrian military expert Markus Reisner told ntv it was “a decisive turn in this conflict.”
Reisner noted that Russia distinguishes between four levels of conflict: local, regional, major and global war. “In the transition from a regional to a large-scale war, according to Russian doctrine, nuclear weapons may be used,” the colonel said.
Russian military circles are already discussing whether such a step might even be necessary in a regional war scenario.
According to Reisner, the message is primarily aimed at the United States.
COMMENT: Russia today is in no position to threaten Western Europe as a whole. Even without the U.S. in NATO, the Europeans with the French and British nuclear deterrent can ultimately hold their own, writes @ConradMBlack. https://t.co/Gr0BRXK3oG
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 6, 2026
