https://www.balkanweb.com/en/The-Kremlin-abandons-the-term-special-operation-and-officially-calls-the-conflict-in-Ukraine-a-war./#gsc.tab=0

https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/07/06/kremlin-spokesman-says-special-military-operation-has-become-a-real-war-blames-western-countries

AND

Defining the “Special Military Operation”

From a Western lay perspective, the Russian’s use of the term “special military operation” is simply a euphemism for “war” But this is not the understanding of Kvachkov, Litvinenko, and likely most Russian military theorists – indeed there is an important distinction in the Russian view, with implications for our understanding of Russia’s activities, particularly in terms of the scale of Moscow’s military (and wider state) deployment. For both Kyachkov and Litvinenko, a “special military operation” falls on the spectrum of military conflict below the level of “war”. Invoking the term, “war”, not only raises the level of intensity of military involvement, but also the capabilities and the goals.

https://www.ndc.nato.int/defining-the-special-military-operation/

AND

Ukraine, “war” versus “special military operation”: why words matter in international law

https://www.fidh.org/en/region/europe-central-asia/ukraine/ukraine-war-versus-military-operation