Russian propagandists continue to circumvent responsibility by choosing different language to define the war that Russia unleashed in Ukraine. Very often, the use of official language can cause not only fatigue, but also doubts about the actions of the Russian military. Therefore, a more informal construction is “combat actions”.

The war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for the ninth year. It is clear that most of it takes place on the battlefield, which is the combat actions. However, “combat actions” have a clear definition - war.

Using this phrase, Russia is trying to show that the war against Ukraine is a temporary phenomenon and allegedly creates additional problems for the Russians. The vague language is also being used to play along with the “blitzkrieg” message the Russian government promised its citizens in the event of an offensive into Ukraine. Additionally, with this phrase, Russian propaganda is again trying to shift the responsibility for the crimes of the aggressor onto the victim of aggression.