EMPTY WORDS

Putin Finally Calls Ukraine Invasion a ‘War’—and Says He Wants It Over

The Russian president also mocked Kyiv’s new weapons from the U.S. as “quite old.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time used the word “war” while referring to his bloodthirsty invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Putin finally stopped hiding behind his “special military operation” euphemism to describe the conflict even while Russians who speak of “war” have faced jail terms of up to 15 years for the dubious crime of spreading “fake” information. “Our goal is not to spin the flywheel of military conflict, but, on the contrary, to end this war,” Putin said. “We will strive for an end to this, and the sooner the better, of course.” He added that the advanced Patriot missile defense system the U.S. is set to supply Ukraine with is “quite old” and wouldn’t help Kyiv achieve its military goals. White House spokesman John Kirby dismissed Putin’s claims about wanting to end the war, saying the Russian leader has “shown absolutely zero indication that he’s willing to negotiate” a diplomatic resolution to the fighting.