The Russian leadership has avoided using the term war since the beginning of the war to refer to the events in Ukraine and insists on referring to them as “special military operations”. If we understand how Russia defines the meaning of war, it will probably give us information about the situation but also about the possibilities of further escalation.
In the official positions and printed texts of the military academies, the Russians clarify what they mean by war. This happens when one state turns against another using the armed forces to resolve a political confrontation. The military in Russia does not only talk about accusations of war but also about periods within the war itself. These range from the period of immediate threats before the start of hostilities to its decisive, theoretically, initial phase and of course until its completion.
There are also categories of war. These include:
1. The “local war”, when the conflict breaks out “within the borders of the warring states” and affects the economic, regional, political and other interests of these states.
2. The “regional war”, when many states in the same region engage in military conflict in pursuit of “important military-political goals”.
3. The “large-scale war” between coalitions of states or important state entities pursuing “radical military-political goals”. Such a war could result from the escalation of a regional war and involve many countries from different parts of the world. It presupposes the “utilization of all the available natural resources and the intellectual commitment of all the participating states”.
The assurance of victory or defeat depends on whether the end of hostilities will take place on the terms set by the attacking force. According to Russian military thought, success is achieved through a combination of sudden, significant power, aggressive action that maintains the initiative with continuous activity. This brings victory by maintaining the original initiative with continuous and uninterrupted blows. Speed brings victory, while on the contrary pauses, breaks and delays cause inaction that can lead to defeat. Russia almost always aims at a lightning war (“lightning bolt”) as it did e.g. in Manchuria in 1945 and in Czechoslovakia in 1968.
So, the term “special military operation”, which is very different from the above, shows one of two things:
1. Either it started without the full approval of the military leadership.
2. or that it initially had military leadership blessings but was intervened after political considerations that led to adjustments and inaction.
In addition, the term “special military operations” and not war also serves the narrative of Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine is not a real state. What is certain is that “war campaign”, according to the well-known Russian traditional military institutions, is not.
