Special military operation

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]

## History

[edit]

Main articles: Propaganda in Russia, Russian disinformation, and Censorship in the Russian Federation

Further information: Media freedom in Russia

The use of euphemisms to describe military activities was common in the Soviet Union and in the Russian Federation after the collapse of communist rule prior to the invasion of Ukraine; this includes:

* Soviet invasion of Poland (1939) as "liberation campaign of the Red Army",[b][12] then subsequently "combat operations during the reunification of the USSR, Western Ukraine and Western Belarus"[c][13]
* Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968) as "friendly assistance to the fraternal people of Czechoslovakia"[d][14] (not officially considered a military operation by Russia as of 2018)[13][15]
* Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989); at first officially named "the introduction of a limited contingent of Soviet troops into Afghanistan",[e][14] then later called "combat operations in Afghanistan"[f][13]
* First Chechen War (1994–1996) as the "operation on the restoration of the constitutional order in Chechnya",[g][16] and then afterwards as "an armed conflict in the Chechen Republic and in the adjacent territories of the Russian Federation, assigned to the zone of armed conflict"[h][13]
* Second Chechen War (1999–2009) being described as part of a "counter-terrorist operation on the territory of the North Caucasus region"[i][13][16]
* Russo-Georgian War (2008) as a "special peace enforcement operation"[j] for "ensuring the security and protection of citizens of the Russian Federation living in the territories of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Republic of Abkhazia"[16][14][13]
* In 2014 Little green men, masked soldiers of the Russian Federation who appeared during the Russo-Ukrainian War carrying weapons and equipment, but wearing unmarked green army uniforms and called "polite people" in Russian media.[17]
* In a 24 February 2022 television appearance Vladimir Putin spoke On conducting a special military operation. As usual since the middle 20th century, the two governments did not formally declare war.

In the broader context of international relations, when evaluating the histories of the continents of Africa and North America, the specific labels of the Biafran War as a "police action" and as well as the Korean War as a "police action" have attracted attention over the past several decades.

## Usage

[edit]

According to some observers, such as Russian journalist Ksenia Turkova [ru], the purpose of this terminology is mainly to create a perception that war is more benign than it actually is, by softening the wording in official reports and in the media.[14][18]

### Applications in Russian media

[edit]

Further information: Russian fake news laws, Russian 2022 war censorship laws, and On conducting a special military operation

See also: Russian information war against Ukraine

In Russian propaganda, the term "special military operation" is the main designation for aggression against Ukraine and is used to replace the definition of "war", which the Russian authorities and state media carefully avoided.[16][19] On 24 February 2022, 6 hours after the start of the invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine, the Russian government tightened censorship by officially requiring the media to use only materials provided by Russian government sources. Subsequently, under pressure from the authorities, many organizations left the country or were closed. The Russian authorities blocked access to a number of Internet resources that refused to comply with the requirements.[20]

In early November 2022, the "rule" was first violated by TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov during a radio broadcast; later on, the events in Ukraine were publicly called "war" by Vladimir Putin,[6] Sergey Lavrov and Margarita Simonyan.[21] In general, Russian authorities and media have tried to avoid the term "war" in the context of Ukraine, instead using it in terms like "gas war" or "information war".[20] In March 2024, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the invasion was a "de jure a special military operation" which, after foreign countries began delivering military aid to Ukraine, devolved into a "de facto war" against the "collective West".[22]

### Applications in other media

[edit]

Certain internationally distributed news agencies, such as Al Jazeera English (AJE), have also used the term in instances with quotation marks applied and details provided about the war's conduct. For example, a March 2022 report by AJE stated that the terminology of having a "'special military operation' should be used to describe Moscow's assault on Ukraine" according to Russian officials because "the Kremlin has been working hard to promote its version of events in the face of widespread indignation and an anti-war movement at home".[23]

On 20 September 2023, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya accused the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, who was serving as the council president, of turning a council meeting into "a one-man stand-up show" by allowing an appearance by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. To which Rama replied "this is not a special operation by the Albanian presidency" adding "There is a solution for this. If you agree, you stop the war and President Zelenskyy will not take the floor."[24][25][26]

### In colloquial speech

[edit]

Social anthropologist Aleksandra Arkhipova [ru] noted that as of September 2022, the abbreviation "SVO" was more commonly used instead of "special operation". According to Arkhipova, this is due to the length of the full term, which is inconvenient in speech, and the concealment of the essence of the term in the abbreviation.[27]

## Meaning and interpretation

[edit]

Further information: Special operations

Strictly speaking, a "special operation" (as defined by organizations like NATO) is a military term for a task that requires specially trained units for an unconventional operation.[28][14] However, the meaning of the Russian "Special military operation" in Ukraine is different.[29] This ambiguity was used to hide and distort the true meaning of what an "SVO" would entail,[30] and has been described as an example of "doublespeak" and "doublethink".[16][31]

Konstantin Gorobets, an associate professor at the University of Groningen, argued that, unlike "war", the term "special military operation" positioned Ukraine as a colony of Russia, denies it equal standing as a sovereign state, and uses the "language of policing". Gorobets says that the implication of the term is imperialistic, "because it assumes that Russia is using force within its own domain, of which Ukraine [in their view] is but a part."[16]

## In popular culture

[edit]

Due to its nature as an overt euphemism, the term has become an Internet meme that satirizes Russian propaganda.[32] At the end of 2022, the euphemism won in the nomination "Expression of the Year" of Russia's "Word of the Year" competition (with the Russian word for war (война) being the overall winner).[14][19] It was also selected as the 2022 Euphemism of the Year by the American Dialect Society.

The semi-official symbol of the term is the Latin letter "Z".[33]

## See also

[edit]

* Politics portal
* Russia portal
* Ukraine portal

### Analogous euphemisms from other countries

[edit]

The practice of using euphemisms in violent conflict is also used within other nations:

* The Biafran War as a "police action"
* The Korean War as a "police action"
* U.S. President Lyndon Johnson called the growing involvement in the Vietnam War "limited military action"
* "Daitōa Seisen" (Japanese: 大東亜聖戦, lit. 'Greater East Asian Holy War') and "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere", two euphemisms used by the government of the Empire of Japan during the Pacific War and the Far East War [ja].
* "Shina Jihen" [ja] (Japanese: 支那事変, lit. 'China Incident'), a euphemism used by the government during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
* The Turkish invasion of Cyprus is often referred to by the Turkish and their supporters with the words "peace operation", "holiday" and "intervention" as euphemisms.
* Argentina called the 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands, on which the country intended to recover the islands that had been invaded by the UK in 1833, Operation Rosario.
* The United States referred to its invasion of Afghanistan as Operation Enduring Freedom. In the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the name Operation Iraqi Freedom was used. For the 2011 military intervention in Libya, NATO used the expression Operation Unified Protector.

### Analogous phrases

[edit]

* 10 years without the right of correspondence (Десять лет без права переписки)
* Civilizing mission
* Encounter killing
* Enhanced interrogation techniques
* Kinetic military action
* Military intervention
* Peace enforcement
* Police action

### Related topics

[edit]

* Credibility gap – a term used to describe U.S. government dishonesty about the Vietnam War
* Disinformation – a process of media influence
* Distinction without a difference – Type of logical fallacy
* Impression management – Process to attempt to influence perceptions
* La guerre sans nom – "the war without a name"; what the Algerian War was called in France as it was occurring
* Minimisation (psychology) – Type of deception
* Non-denial denial – Statement that seems to deny an accusation but does not

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Russian: специа́льная вое́нная опера́ция, romanized: spetsial'naya voyennaya operatsiya; Ukrainian: спеціальна воєнна операція, romanized: spetsial'na voyenna operatsiya
2. ^ Russian: освободительный поход РККА, romanized: osvoboditel'nyy pokhod RKKA, where RККА stands for the long-form of the Red Army
3. ^ Russian: боевые действия при воссоединении СССР, Западной Украины и Западной Белоруссии
4. ^ Russian: дружеская помощь братскому народу Чехословакии
5. ^ Russian: введение ограниченного контингента советских войск в Афганистан
6. ^ Russian: боевые действия в Афганистане
7. ^ Russian: операция по восстановлению конституционного порядка в Чечне
8. ^ Russian: вооруженный конфликт в Чеченской Республике и на прилегающих к ней территориях Российской Федерации, отнесенных к зоне вооруженного конфликта
9. ^ Russian: контртеррористических операций на территории Северо-Кавказского региона
10. ^ Russian: специальная операция по принуждению к миру

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Do not call Ukraine invasion a 'war', Russia tells media, schools". Al Jazeera. 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023.
2. ^ 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"
3. ^ 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"
4. ^ "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"
5. ^ 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.
6. ^ a b 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.
7. ^ Faulconbridge, Guy (8 June 2023). "In Russia, the talk is of 'war' – even from Putin". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023.
8. ^ 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."
9. ^ AFP (26 February 2022). "Russia Bans Media Outlets From Using Words 'War,' 'Invasion'". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
10. ^ Troianovski, Anton; Safronova, Valeriya (4 March 2022). "Russia Takes Censorship to New Extremes, Stifling War Coverage". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
11. ^ Reporter, Isabel van Brugen News (14 March 2022). "Russia Arrests Multiple People for Holding Up Blank Signs". Newsweek. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
12. ^ Moorhouse, Roger (7 October 2022). "Roger Moorhouse on the historical echoes of the war in Ukraine". HistoryExtra. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023.
13. ^ a b c d e f "Федеральный закон от 12.01.1995 N 5-ФЗ (ред. от 28.04.2023) "О ветеранах", Статья 3. Ветераны боевых действий" [Federal Law No. 5-FZ of 12 January 1995 (as amended on April 28, 2023) "On Veterans", Article 3. Veterans of combat operations]. Consultant Plus (in Russian). Archived from the original on 14 July 2023.
14. ^ a b c d e f Levontina, Irina; Shmeleva, Elena (14 March 2023). "Зэтники и нетвойняшки. Каким стал специальный военный русский язык" [Zetniks and non-warriors. What has become a special military Russian language]. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (in Russian). Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
15. ^ Volkova, Olga (17 January 2018). "Участникам операции в Чехословакии не присвоят статус ветеранов боевых действий" [Participants of the operation in Czechoslovakia will not be given the status of combat veterans]. Parliamentary Newspaper [ru] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 9 September 2018.+[ru]&rft.atitle=Участникам+операции+в+Чехословакии+не+присвоят+статус+ветеранов+боевых+действий&rft.date=2018-01-17&rft.aulast=Volkova&rft.aufirst=Olga&rft_id=https://www.pnp.ru/politics/uchastnikam-operacii-v-chekhoslovakii-ne-prisvoyat-status-veteranov-boevykh-deystviy.html&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Special+military+operation" class="Z3988">
16. ^ a b c d e f Gorobets, Kostia (24 May 2022). "Russian "Special Military Operation" and the Language of Empire". Opinio Juris. Archived from the original on 21 July 2023.
17. ^ Schreck, Carl (26 February 2019). "From 'Not Us' To 'Why Hide It?': How Russia Denied Its Crimea Invasion, Then Admitted It". rferl.org. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
18. ^ Turkova, Ksenia (19 May 2023). "Очень странные слова" [Very strange words]. Holod (website) [ru].+[ru]&rft.atitle=Очень+странные+слова&rft.date=2023-05-19&rft.aulast=Turkova&rft.aufirst=Ksenia&rft_id=https://holod.media/2023/05/19/ochen-strannye-slova/?amp&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Special+military+operation" class="Z3988">
19. ^ a b Turkova, Ksenia (6 December 2022). "Война — главное слово года" [War — the word of the year]. Voice of America (in Russian). Archived from the original on 6 February 2023.
20. ^ a b Alyukov, Maxim; Kunilovskaya, Maria; Semenov, Andrei (August 2022). "Putin's Second Front: no peace for the wicked". Russian Election Monitor.
21. ^ Thomas Kika (29 January 2023). "Russian state TV admits "war" and "special military operation" are the same". Newsweek. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
22. ^ "'We are at war': Putin spokesman says invasion of Ukraine has grown beyond 'special military operation'". Meduza. 22 March 2024. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
23. ^ "Do not call Ukraine invasion a 'war', Russia tells media, schools". Al Jazeera English. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
24. ^ Baczynska, Gabriela (20 September 2023). "'Stop the war' and Zelenskiy need not speak, UN Security Council chair tells Russia". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
25. ^ "'Stop the war': Russia called out at UN Security Council meeting". CBC News. 21 September 2023. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
26. ^ Lederer, Edith M; Peltz, Jennifer (20 September 2023). "Ukraine's president, at Security Council, lashes out at Russia but avoids face-to-face encounter". CTV News. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
27. ^ Arkhipova, Alexandra (19 September 2022). "«Произошел хлопок в доме, возможен отрицательный рост жильцов». Как россияне реагируют на новояз и цензуру" ["There was a clap in the house, negative growth of residents is possible." How Russians react to newspeak and censorship.]. Paper (Russian newspaper) [ru] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 9 March 2023.+[ru]&rft.atitle=«Произошел+хлопок+в+доме,+возможен+отрицательный+рост+жильцов».+Как+россияне+реагируют+на+новояз+и+цензуру.&rft.date=2022-09-19&rft.aulast=Arkhipova&rft.aufirst=Alexandra&rft_id=https://paperpaper.ru/proizoshel-hlopok-v-dome-vozmozhen-otr/&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Special+military+operation" class="Z3988">
28. ^ North Atlantic Treaty Organization (13 December 2013). "Allied Joint Doctrine for Special Operations". NATO Standard Allied Joint Publication. AJP-3.5 (Edition A, Version 1). Brussels: NATO Standardization Agency: 1.
29. ^ McDermott, Roger N .; Bartles, Charles K. (6 September 2022). "Defining the "Special Military Operation"". NATO Defense College. Archived from the original on 6 September 2022.
30. ^ Palveleva, Lilya (1 March 2022). "Эвфемизмы войны. Как власть манипулирует сознанием людей" [Euphemisms of war. How government manipulates people's minds]. Radio Liberty (in Russian).
31. ^ "What can we do to avoid contributing to the 'fog of war' online during Russia's invasion of Ukraine?". Center for an Informed Public. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
32. ^ Chudá, Lucia (30 November 2022). "Precedentné výrazy V. Putina v mémoch a ich funkcia v politickom diskurze" [Vladimir Putin's Precedent Expressions in Memes and Their Function in Political Discourse]. Language and politics. On the border between linguistics and political science (in Slovak) (VII ed.). Comenius University in Bratislava: EKONÓM. ISBN 9788022549875.
33. ^ "Буква Z — официальный (и зловещий) символ российского вторжения в Украину. Мы попытались выяснить, кто это придумал, — и вот что из этого получилось" [The letter Z is the official (and ominous) symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We tried to find out who came up with it – and here's what came of it]. Meduza (in Russian). 15 March 2022. Archived from the original on 7 August 2023.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Adisti, Stefani Ernes; Charima, Yunia Aqlia; Cahyono, Setyo Prasiyanto (18 December 2022). "Language and Framing In Russia-Ukraine Conflict News". The Proceedings of English Language Teaching, Literature, and Translation (ELTLT). 11 (1): 9–19\. eISSN 2580-7528. ISSN 2580-1937.
* Eldin, Ahmad Abdel Tawwab Sharaf (October 2023). "A linguistic Study of the Media War between Russia and Ukraine". Nile Valley Journal for Humanitarian, Social and Educational Studies and Research. 40 (40): 51–80\. doi:10.21608/jwadi.2023.320760. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023 – via EKB Journal Management System.

* v
* t
* e

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Part of the Russo-Ukrainian War

Overview

General|

* Outline
* Timeline
* Prelude
* Feb–Apr 2022
* Apr–Aug 2022
* Aug–Nov 2022
* Nov 2022 – Jun 2023
* Jun–Aug 2023
* Sep–Nov 2023
* Dec 2023 – Mar 2024
* Apr–Jul 2024
* Aug–Dec 2024
* Jan–May 2025
* Jun 2025 – present
* Aerial warfare
* Defense lines
* Foreign fighters
* Information war
* Naval warfare
* Legality
* Map
* Order of battle
* Peace negotiations
* Ukraine's Peace Formula
* China peace proposal
* June 2024 peace summit
* Proposed no-fly zone
* Red lines
* Reparations
* Territorial control
* Women

Prelude|

* Reactions
* Disinformation
* Ukraine bioweapons conspiracy theory
* Ukraine and weapons of mass destruction
* 2021 Russia–United States summit
* 2021 Black Sea incident
* Belarus–European Union border crisis
* "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians"
* Crimea Platform
* Zapad 2021
* December 2021 ultimatum
* 2022 Ukraine cyberattacks
* Zametil 2022
* Union Resolve 2022
* Stanytsia Luhanska kindergarten bombing
* British–Polish–Ukrainian trilateral pact
* Evacuation of the Donetsk PR and Luhansk PR
* Mobilization in Donetsk PR and Luhansk PR
* "Address concerning the events in Ukraine"
* "On conducting a special military operation"

Background|

* Dissolution of the Soviet Union
* 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine
* Annexation of Crimea
* reactions
* War in Donbas
* 2022 timeline
* Minsk agreements
* humanitarian situation
* international recognition of the Donetsk PR and Luhansk PR
* Putinism
* Foundations of Geopolitics
* Novorossiya
* Ruscism
* Russian irredentism
* Russian imperialism

Foreign
relations|

* Russia–Ukraine
* Belarus–Ukraine
* Belarus–Russia
* Russia–United States
* Ukraine–United States
* Russia–NATO
* Ukraine–NATO
* enlargement of NATO
* eastward expansion controversy in Russia
* open door policy

Military engagements

Southern
Ukraine|

* Snake Island campaign
* Siege of Mariupol
* Battle of Kherson
* Capture of Melitopol
* Battle of Mykolaiv
* Battle of Enerhodar
* Battle of Voznesensk
* Kherson counteroffensive
* Liberation of Kherson
* Dnieper campaign
* Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam

Eastern
Ukraine|

* Battle of Volnovakha
* Battle of Kharkiv
* Battle of Izium
* Battle of Rubizhne
* Battle of Popasna
* Battle of Marinka
* Battle of Donbas
* Battle of the Siverskyi Donets
* Battle of Sievierodonetsk
* Battle of Lysychansk
* Battle of Pisky
* Battle of Bakhmut
* Battle of Soledar
* Battle of Vuhledar
* Kharkiv counteroffensive
* Battle of Lyman (September–October 2022)
* Luhansk Oblast campaign
* Kupiansk
* Northeast Donetsk
* Battle of Avdiivka
* Battle of Chasiv Yar
* Battle of Krasnohorivka
* Battle of Ocheretyne
* Battle of Toretsk
* Pokrovsk offensive
* Battle of Kurakhove

Northern
Ukraine|

* Capture of Chernobyl
* Russian Kyiv convoy
* Battle of Kyiv
* Battle of Antonov Airport
* Battle of Hostomel
* Battle of Bucha
* Battle of Irpin
* Battle of Makariv
* Battle of Moshchun
* Destruction of the Kozarovychi Dam
* Battle of Brovary
* Battle of Slavutych
* Battle of Sumy
* Siege of Chernihiv
* Northeastern border skirmishes
* 2025 Sumy Oblast incursion

Russia|

* Bryansk Oblast raid
* Kremlin drone attack
* Moscow drone strikes
* 2023 Belgorod Oblast incursions
* 30 December 2023 Belgorod shelling
* February 2024 Belgorod missile strike
* May 2024 Belgorod missile strike
* March 2024 western Russia incursion
* 2024 Kursk offensive
* occupation
* Battles for Olgovskiy Forest
* Toropets depot explosions
* 2025 Belgorod Oblast incursion

Airstrikes
by city|

* Chernihiv strikes
* Dnipro strikes
* Huliaipole strikes
* Ivano-Frankivsk strikes
* Kharkiv strikes
* Kherson strikes
* Khmelnytskyi strikes
* Kryvyi Rih strikes
* Kyiv strikes
* Lviv strikes
* Mykolaiv strikes
* Odesa strikes
* Rivne strikes
* Vinnytsia strikes
* Zaporizhzhia strikes
* Zhytomyr strikes

Airstrikes
on military
targets|

* Chuhuiv air base attack
* Millerovo air base attack
* Chornobaivka attacks
* 7 March 2022 Mykolaiv military barracks attack
* Yavoriv military base attack
* 18 March 2022 Mykolaiv military quarters attack
* Berdiansk port attack
* Sinking of the Moskva
* Desna barracks airstrike
* Attack on Nova Kakhovka
* Crimea attacks
* Saky air base attack
* Drone attack on the Sevastopol Naval Base
* Missile strike on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters
* Dyagilevo and Engels air bases attacks
* Makiivka military quarters shelling
* Machulishchy air base attack
* Zarichne barracks airstrike
* Operation Spider's Web

Resistance|

| Russian-occupied Ukraine|

* Popular Resistance of Ukraine
* Berdiansk Partisan Army
* Yellow Ribbon
* Atesh

|

Belarusian and Russian partisans|

* Assassination of Vladlen Tatarsky
* Civic Council
* Irpin Declaration
* Killing of Darya Dugina
* National Republican Army
* Military commissariats arsons
* Ust-Ilimsk military commissariat shooting
* Black Bridge
* Rail war in Russia
* Stop the Wagons
* Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists
* Rail war in Belarus
* Busly liaciać
* BYPOL
* Community of Railway Workers
* Cyber Partisans

Russian
occupations|

* Flags used in Russian-occupied Ukraine

Ongoing|

* Annexation referendums
* Annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts
* Elections in Russian-occupied Ukraine
* Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine
* Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol
* Donetsk Oblast
* Kharkiv Oblast
* Kherson Oblast
* Luhansk Oblast
* Mykolaiv Oblast
* Zaporizhzhia Oblast
* Sumy Oblast (2025, reentry)

Previous|

* Chernihiv Oblast
* Kyiv Oblast
* Odesa Oblast
* Sumy Oblast (2022)
* Zhytomyr Oblast

Potentially
related|

* Black Sea drone incident
* Bridge collapses in Russia
* Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant drone strike
* Mystery fires in Russia
* Nord Stream pipeline sabotage
* Transnistria attacks
* Zagreb Tu-141 crash

Other|

* 2022 Crimean Bridge explosion
* 2023 Crimean Bridge explosion
* 2025 Crimean Bridge explosion
* Assassination attempts on Volodymyr Zelenskyy
* Coup d'état attempt in Ukraine
* Bridges in the Russo-Ukrainian War
* Dragon drone
* Violations of non-combatant airspaces
* Missile explosion in Poland
* Operation Synytsia
* Ukraine and electronic warfare
* Use of long-range weapons by Ukraine in Russia
* 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive
* 2024 Ukrainian cyberattacks against Russia
* Wagner Group rebellion

War crimes

General|

* Accusations of genocide in Donbas
* Allegations of genocide of Ukrainians
* child abductions
* Attacks on hospitals
* Cluster munitions
* Incendiary weapons
* Landmines
* Russian filtration camps
* Russian mobile crematoriums
* Russian theft of Ukrainian grain
* Russian torture chambers
* Looting
* Sexual violence
* Mistreatment of prisoners of war

Attacks on
civilians|

* February 2022 Kharkiv cluster bombing
* Kharkiv government building airstrike
* 3 March Chernihiv bombing
* Irpin refugee column shelling
* Mariupol hospital airstrike
* Stara Krasnianka care house attack
* Mykolaiv cluster bombing
* March 2022 Donetsk attack
* 2022 Borodianka airstrikes
* Chernihiv breadline attack
* Mariupol theatre airstrike
* Kyiv shopping centre bombing
* Sumykhimprom ammonia leak
* March 2022 Kharkiv cluster bombing
* Mykolaiv government building missile strike
* Bucha massacre
* Kramatorsk railway station attack
* April 2022 Kharkiv cluster bombing
* Bilohorivka school bombing
* Shooting of Andrii Bohomaz
* Maisky Market attack
* Kremenchuk shopping mall attack
* Serhiivka missile strike
* Chasiv Yar missile strike
* Olenivka prison massacre
* Kharkiv dormitories missile strike
* Chaplyne railway station attack
* Izium mass graves
* September 2022 Donetsk attack
* Zaporizhzhia civilian convoy attack
* Kupiansk civilian convoy shelling
* Zaporizhzhia residential building airstrike
* Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
* 2023 Dnipro residential building airstrike
* Sloviansk airstrike
* Uman missile strike
* Kramatorsk restaurant missile strike
* Lyman cluster bombing
* 2023 Pokrovsk missile strike
* Chernihiv missile strike
* Kostiantynivka missile strike
* Hroza missile attack
* Volnovakha massacre
* December 2023 strikes
* 2024 Pokrovsk missile strike
* 2024 Donetsk attack
* Lysychansk missile strike
* 6 March 2024 Odesa strike
* March 2024 strikes
* Human safari (terror campaign)
* May 2024 Kharkiv strikes
* 8 July 2024 strikes
* 2024 Kostiantynivka supermarket missile attack
* 26 August 2024 strikes
* September 2024 Poltava strike
* November 2024 strikes
* February 2025 Poltava strike
* 2025 Sumy airstrike

Crimes
against
soldiers|

* Torture of Russian soldiers in Mala Rohan
* Torture and castration of a Ukrainian POW in Pryvillia
* Rape of Donetsk People's Republic soldiers by Kadyrovites
* Murder of Yevgeny Nuzhin
* Makiivka surrender incident
* Execution of Oleksandr Matsievskyi
* 2022 Ukrainian prisoner of war beheading

Legal cases|

* ICC investigation
* Arrest warrants
* ICJ court case
* Task Force on Accountability
* Universal jurisdiction
* Crime of aggression tribunal
* Criminal proceedings
* Vadim Shishimarin
* Alexander Bobikin and Alexander Ivanov
* Anton Cherednik

Reactions

States
and
official
entities|

| General|

* Sanctions
* people and organizations
* restrictions on transit to Kaliningrad Oblast
* Military aid
* European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine
* People's Bayraktar
* Signmyrocket.com
* Humanitarian aid
* Sanctioned yachts
* Relations with Russia

|

Ukraine|

* Application to NATO
* Be Brave Like Ukraine
* Brave1
* Bring Kids Back UA
* Ban on Russia-associated religious groups
* Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War
* Decolonization and derussification law
* Delta
* Destroyed Russian military equipment exhibition
* For Courage and Bravery (Ukraine)
* Grain From Ukraine
* Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief
* Hero City
* I Want to Live
* International Legion and other foreign units
* Belarusian Volunteer Corps
* Terror Battalion
* Black Maple Company
* Canadian-Ukrainian Brigade
* Freedom of Russia Legion
* German Volunteer Corps
* Karelian National Battalion
* Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment
* Norman Brigade
* Pahonia Regiment
* Polish Volunteer Corps
* Romanian Battlegroup Getica
* Russian Volunteer Corps
* Separate Special Purpose Battalion
* Sibir Battalion
* Turan Battalion
* International Sponsors of War
* Forced confiscation law of Russian property [ru; uk]
* Look for Your Own
* Lukoil sanctions
* Martial law
* Mobilization
* Media Center Ukraine
* National Council for the Recovery of Ukraine from the War [uk]
* National Multi-Subject Test [uk]
* North Korea–Ukraine relations
* Points of Invincibility
* Recognition of Ichkeria
* Rescuer City
* Save Ukrainian Culture [uk]
* Syria–Ukraine relations
* Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra
* United24
* United News

Russia|

* highways in the annexed territories
* A290
* A291 "Tavrida"
* R260
* R280 "Novorossiya"
* 2022 Moscow rally
* 2023 Moscow rally
* 2022 Moscow Victory Day Parade
* 2023 Moscow Victory Day Parade
* 2024 Moscow Victory Day Parade
* 2023 Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly
* Blockade of Ukraine [ru]
* Bohdan Khmelnytsky Battalion
* Censorship in Russia [ru]
* Chechnya
* Pro-Ukrainian Chechen fighters
* Conmemorative Medal "Participant of a Special Military Operation" [ru]
* Conversations about Important Things
* Krasovsky case
* Legalization of parallel imports [ru]
* Manifesto of the South Russian People's Council
* Martial law
* Masha Moskalyova case
* Metropolis of Crimea
* Mikhail Simonov case
* Mobilization
* Recruitment of irregular forces [ru]
* Operation Doppelgänger
* Opinion polling [ru]
* Orthodox Christmas truce proposal
* Wagner Group–Ministry of Defense conflict
* Russian Orthodox clergymen appeal against war
* Salvation Committee for Peace and Order
* Special Coordinating Council
* Ukraine bioweapons conspiracy theory
* Unfriendly countries list
* War censorship laws
* We Are Together. Sports
* "What Russia Should Do with Ukraine"

United
States|

* 2022 Joe Biden speech in Warsaw
* 2022 State of the Union Address
* Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022
* Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023
* Disinformation Governance Board
* Executive Order 14071
* Pentagon document leaks
* Task Force KleptoCapture
* Ukraine Defense Contact Group
* Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act
* Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative

Other
countries|

* Belarus
* Canada
* Canada–Ukraine authorization for emergency travel
* China
* Closer ties with Russia
* Chinese peace plan
* Hong Kong
* Croatia
* Denmark
* Danish European Union defence opt-out referendum
* France
* Mission Aigle
* Georgia
* Germany
* German Taurus controversy
* Taurus leak
* Zeitenwende speech
* Hungary
* India
* Operation Ganga
* Iran
* Closer ties with Russia
* Israel
* Operation Israel Guarantees
* Lithuania
* Moldova
* New Zealand
* Russia Sanctions Act
* North Korea
* Poland
* border crisis with Ukraine
* Syria [ru]
* Taiwan
* United Kingdom
* Economic Crime Act
* Homes for Ukraine
* Operation Interflex
* 2025 London Summit on Ukraine
* Coalition of the willing

United
Nations|

* Emergency special session
* Resolution ES-11/1
* Resolution ES-11/2
* Resolution ES-11/3
* Resolution ES-11/4
* Resolution ES-11/5
* Resolution ES-11/6
* Resolution ES-11/7
* Security Council Resolution 2623
* Resolution A/RES/77/229
* Easter truce

International
organizations|

* Accession of Moldova to the EU
* Accession of Ukraine to the EU
* Brussels summit
* European Political Community
* 1st summit
* 2nd summit
* 3rd summit
* Madrid summit
* NATO virtual summit
* Operation Oscar
* Ramstein Air Base meeting
* EU–Ukraine Summit
* REPowerEU
* Steadfast Defender 2024
* SWIFT ban against Russian banks
* Ukraine Recovery Conference
* Versailles declaration
* 2023 Vilnius summit
* 15th BRICS summit
* 2024 Washington summit
* Weimar+

Other|

* Consecration of Russia
* F-16 training coalition
* Finland–NATO relations
* Finland–Russia border barrier
* Iron diplomacy
* Proposed Russian annexation of South Ossetia
* Removal of monuments and memorials
* Streets renamed
* Ukraine Square, Oslo
* Serving heads of state and government that have visited Ukraine during the invasion
* Sweden–NATO relations
* Swedish anti-terrorism bill

Public|

| Protests|

* In Ukraine
* in Russian-occupied Ukraine
* demolition of monuments to Alexander Pushkin
* ArmWomenNow
* Ukrainian Artistic Front
* In Russia
* Angry patriots
* Club of Angry Patriots
* Anti-War Committee
* Suspicious deaths of Russian businesspeople
* Congress of People's Deputies
* Council of Mothers and Wives
* Feminist Anti-War Resistance
* Flower protests
* Marina Ovsyannikova
* Russian Action Committee
* North Caucasian protests
* 2022 Russian Far East protests
* State Duma initiative for charging Vladimir Putin of high treason
* White-blue-white flag
* In Belarus
* In China
* Great Translation Movement
* In Czech Republic
* Czech Republic First!

|

Companies|

* Address of the Russian Union of Rectors
* Boycott of Russia and Belarus
* "Do not buy Russian goods!"
* E.N.O.T. Corp.
* Igor Mangushev
* McDonald's in Russia
* Vkusno i tochka
* NashStore [ru]
* People's Satellite
* Starlink satellites
* Stop Bloody Energy
* Wagner Group
* Andrey Aleksandrovich Medvedev
* Death of Nemes Tarimo
* Yale CELI List of Companies

Technology|

* Anonymous and the invasion
* alerts.in.ua
* DDoS attacks on Romania
* DeepStateMap.Live
* Denys Davydov
* IT Army of Ukraine
* Killnet
* Liveuamap
* Open-source intelligence
* peacenotwar
* Russian Asset Tracker
* Squad303 [pl]
* Ukraine Siren Alerts
* Wikipedia
* threat to block in Russia
* detention of Mark Bernstein

Spies|

* Diplomatic expulsions during the Russo-Ukrainian War
* Russian spies in the Russo-Ukrainian War

Other|

* Association of Azovstal Defenders' Families
* Black Sea Grain Initiative
* Collaboration with Russia
* We Are Together with Russia
* Concert for Ukraine
* Free Buryatia Foundation
* Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum
* Game4Ukraine
* Get Lost
* Global Tour for Peace
* Go by the Forest
* Guide to the Free World
* Mozart Group
* Olena Zelenska Foundation
* Open letter from Nobel laureates
* Pavel Sudoplatov Battalion
* Rubikus.HelpUA
* Ruslan Shostak Charitable Foundation
* Russia's War Crimes House
* Save Ukraine
* Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online
* Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation
* Spain letter bomb attacks
* Yermak-McFaul Expert Group on Russian Sanctions
* Pavel Filatyev
* True Russia
* Volos Declaration
* Vyvozhuk
* Wimbledon ban

Impact

Effects|

* Aircraft losses
* Casualties
* journalists killed
* Russian generals killed
* Economic impact
* Inflation surge
* 2022 Moldovan energy crisis
* protests
* 2025 Moldovan energy crisis
* Russia–EU gas dispute
* 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage
* Russian debt default
* 2022 Russian oil price cap
* 2022-2024 German economic crisis
* 2023 Russian oil products sanctions and price cap
* EU natural gas price cap
* Education
* End of the Whisky War
* Environmental impact
* European re-armament
* Eurovision Song Contest 2022
* Russia
* Ukraine
* Eurovision Song Contest 2023
* Food crises
* Impact on theatre [uk]
* List of notable deaths
* Lukoil oil transit dispute
* Nuclear power plants
* Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant crisis
* Nuclear risk
* Religion
* Russian emigration
* The Ark
* Ship losses
* Ukrainian cultural heritage
* art theft and looting
* damaged cultural sites
* Trauma
* Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod pipeline explosion
* Ukrainian energy crisis
* Violations of non-combatant airspaces
* Women

Human
rights|

* Humanitarian impact
* Ukrainian refugee crisis
* 2025 Amsterdam stabbing attack
* Sobieskiego 100
* UN Commission of Inquiry
* UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission

Terms,
phrases|

* "And now I will show you where the attack on Belarus was prepared from"
* "Anglo-Saxons"
* "Bavovna"
* "Grandpa in his bunker"
* "Good evening, we are from Ukraine"
* "Orc"
* "Putin khuylo!"
* "Khuy Voyne!"
* "Russia is here forever [uk]"
* "Russian warship, go fuck yourself"
* "Slava Ukraini!"
* "Special military operation"
* "To bomb Voronezh"
* "Strength is in truth"
* "Westsplaining"
* "Where have you been for eight years?"
* "Without you"

Popular
culture|

| Songs|

* "12"
* "Bakhmut Fortress"
* "Bayraktar"
* "Bilia topoli"
* "City of Mary"
* "Flowers of Minefields"
* "Generation Cancellation"
* "Generation Z"
* "I'm Russian"
* "Oyda"
* "Hey, Hey, Rise Up!"
* "Mama ŠČ!"
* "Oi u luzi chervona kalyna"
* "Slava Ukraini!"
* "Stefania"
* "Ukraine"
* "Crushed"

|

Films|

* 20 Days in Mariupol
* A Rising Fury
* Follow Me
* Intercepted
* Russians at War
* Turn in the Wound
* Ukraine on Fire 2 [uk]

Other|

* Babylon'13
* Back to the Cold War
* Borodianka cat [uk]
* Ghost of Kyiv
* Kherson watermelon
* Královec Region
* Madonna of Kyiv
* North Atlantic Fella Organization
* Newspeak in Russia
* Patron
* "Putler"
* "Putinversteher"
* Raccoon of Kherson
* Saint Javelin
* Saint Mariuburg [ru; uk]
* Vasylkiv maiolica rooster
* Vladimir Putin's meeting table
* Walk of the Brave
* "Z" military symbol

Key people

Ukrainians|

* Volodymyr Zelenskyy
* speeches during the invasion
* visit to the United States
* visit to the United Kingdom
* visits to Europe
* Anatolii Kryvonozhko
* Anatoliy Barhylevych
* Andrii Hnatov
* Andriy Biletsky
* Andriy Yermak
* Denys Shmyhal
* Denys Kireyev  X
* Denys Monastyrsky  †
* Denys Prokopenko
* Ihor Klymenko
* Iryna Venediktova
* Kyrylo Budanov
* Mykhailo Drapatyi
* Mykola Oleschuk
* Oleksandr Pavlyuk
* Oleksandr Syrskyi
* Oleksii Reznikov
* Oleksiy Danilov
* Oleksiy Neizhpapa
* Ruslan Khomchak
* Rustem Umerov
* Sergiy Kyslytsya
* Serhiy Shaptala
* Serhii Sternenko
* Valerii Zaluzhnyi
* Vasyl Malyuk
* Vitali Klitschko
* Yevhen Moisiuk
* Yulia Svyrydenko

Russians|

* Vladimir Putin
* Aleksandr Dvornikov
* Aleksandr Lapin
* Aleksey Dyumin
* Aleksey Nagin  †
* Alexander Bortnikov
* Andrei Kolesnikov
* Andrei Sychevoi
* Andrey Belousov
* Andrey Vorobyov
* Dmitry Medvedev
* Gennady Zhidko  #
* Igor Kastyukevich
* Ivan Popov
* Mikhail Mishustin
* Maria Lvova-Belova
* Nikolai Patrushev
* Oleg Salyukov
* Oleg Tsokov  †
* Ramzan Kadyrov
* Roman Berdnikov
* Rustam Muradov
* Sergey Kobylash
* Sergey Lavrov
* Sergey Naryshkin
* Sergei Shoigu
* Sergey Surovikin
* Timur Ivanov
* Valery Gerasimov
* Viktor Sokolov
* Viktor Zolotov
* Vitaly Gerasimov
* Vyacheslav Gladkov
* Vyacheslav Volodin
* Yevgeny Prigozhin  X

Other|

* Alexander Lukashenko
* Denis Pushilin
* Leonid Pasechnik
* Sergey Aksyonov
* Vitaly Ganchev
* Vladimir Saldo
* Yevgeny Balitsky
* Yuriy Barbashov

Related

* 2023 North Korea–Russia summit
* 2023 visit by Joe Biden to Ukraine
* 2023 visit by Fumio Kishida to Ukraine
* 2023 visit by Xi Jinping to Russia
* 2023 visit by Yoon Suk Yeol to Ukraine
* 2025 Putin–Trump call
* Anti-drone mesh
* Anti-Russian sentiment
* Anti-Ukrainian sentiment
* Antonov An-225 Mriya
* Axis of Upheaval
* Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243
* Azovstal Iron and Steel Works
* Brovary helicopter crash
* Bryansk Oblast military aircraft crashes
* Claims of Vladimir Putin's incapacity and death
* Decolonization in Ukraine
* Decommunization in Ukraine
* Derussification in Ukraine
* Demolition of monuments to Alexander Pushkin in Ukraine
* Foreign leaders that have visited during the invasion
* Institute for the Study of War
* Irkutsk Su-30 crash
* Ivanovo Ilyushin Il-76 crash
* Korochansky Ilyushin Il-76 crash
* Kyivstar cyberattack
* Lady R incident
* Moldovan coup d'état attempt allegations
* Nord Stream 2
* Proposed Russian annexation of Transnistria
* Punisher
* Russian nuclear weapons
* Sarmat
* Rico Krieger
* Russian military presence in Transnistria
* Ryazan Il-76 crash
* Siberian wildfires
* Sinhury mid-air collision [uk; zh]
* Soloti military training ground shooting
* Soviet imagery
* Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support
* Turtle tank
* U-24 association
* Ukrainian-African Renaissance
* Ukrainian conscription crisis
* Western long-range weapons in Russia
* Ural Airlines Flight 1383
* "The Vladimir Putin Interview"
* Voronezh An-26 crash
* Wagner Group plane crash
* Yeysk Su-34 crash
* Yaroslav Hunka scandal
* Time of Heroes

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