Russian President Vladimir Putin described his “special military operation” in Ukraine as a “war” for the first time since his extensive invasion of Russia’s neighboring country almost 10 months ago.
“Our goal is not to set off this flywheel of a military conflict, but on the contrary, to end this war,” Putin said at a televised press conference on Thursday, according to the Washington Post. “That is what we are striving for.”
Putin had previously used the term “special military operation” to describe the war in Ukraine and had in fact prohibited calling the invasion a “war.” People were reportedly jailed in Russia for using similar language.
Despite the Russian president’s claim that he wants to “end this war,” US national security spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday that Putin is “obviously not interested in diplomacy right now.”
“Quite the opposite,” Kirby said. “He is interested in killing more civilian Ukrainians and turning off the lights and turning off the heat as winter approaches.”
The language change came as part of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s historic visit to Washington, D.C., earlier this week.
Before speaking before Congress on Wednesday evening, Zelensky met with President Biden at the White House, where the US president reaffirmed his support for Ukraine and announced an additional $1.85 billion in military support for the country, including the Patriot missile system.