Explained: Why has the Kremlin now admitted it's at war? In a major change in its rhetoric, the Kremlin earlier admitted Russia is in a state of war. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the conflict had "become a war" because of the involvement of the West. Up until now, it had referred to the war as a "special military operation". Why call it a special military operation in the first place? From the very beginning, Vladimir Putin has referred to the war in Ukraine as a "special military operation". Western analysts say this was intended to reassure Russians the conflict would...