Special military operation

"Special military operation" (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 Russo-Ukrainian war that began in February 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 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.

Russia has banned the use of the terms "war" or "invasion" in referring to its invasion of Ukraine, as well as discussion of the censorship itself. The expression appears prominently in the public address by Russian President Vladimir Putin, 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 criticize the Russian invasion.

History

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", then subsequently "combat operations during the reunification of the USSR, Western Ukraine and Western Belarus"

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968) as "friendly assistance to the fraternal people of Czechoslovakia" (not officially considered a military operation by Russia as of 2025)

Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989); at first officially named "the introduction of a limited contingent of Soviet troops into Afghanistan", then later called "combat operations in Afghanistan"

First Chechen War (1994–1996) as the "operation on the restoration of the constitutional order in Chechnya", 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"

Second Chechen War (1999–2009) being described as part of a "counter-terrorist operation on the territory of the North Caucasus region"

Russo-Georgian War (2008) as a "special peace enforcement operation" 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"

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.

In a 24 February 2022 television appearance, Vladimir Putin announced the Russian invasion of Ukraine in his speech "On conducting a special military operation". As is 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" and Police Actions (Indonesia) have attracted attention over the past several decades.

Usage

According to some observers, such as Russian journalist Ksenia Turkova, 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.