Special military operation in the context of "Russian government"

On 24 February 2022, during the Russo-Ukrainian war, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting the current phase of the war, the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. By April 2022, the invasion's initial goal of a rapid Russian victory via decapitation had failed, with Ukraine pushing back the northern arm of the invasion and preventing the capture of Kyiv. Following this, the war transitioned to more conventional fighting in the south and east of Ukraine.

In a televised address, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the invasion, calling it a "special military operation". He said that its purpose was to support the Russian-backed breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose paramilitary forces had been fighting Ukraine in the war in Donbas since 2014. Putin espoused irredentist and imperialist views challenging Ukraine's legitimacy as a state, baselessly claimed that the Ukrainian government was neo-Nazis committing genocide against the Russian minority in the Donbas, and said that Russia's goal was to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine.

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II. It is a major escalation of the war between the two countries that began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties. As of 2025, Russian troops occupy about 20% of Ukraine. From a population of 41 million, about 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced and more than 8.2 million had fled the country by April 2023, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.

In late 2021, Russia massed troops near Ukraine's borders and issued demands to the West, including a ban on Ukraine ever joining NATO. After repeatedly denying having plans to attack Ukraine, on 24 February 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation", saying that it was to support the Russian-backed breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose paramilitary forces had been fighting Ukraine in the war in Donbas since 2014. Putin espoused irredentist and imperialist views challenging Ukraine's legitimacy as a state, baselessly claimed that the Ukrainian government were neo-Nazis committing genocide against the Russian minority in the Donbas, and said that Russia's goal was to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine. Russian air strikes and a ground invasion were launched on a northern front from Belarus towards the capital Kyiv, a southern front from occupied Crimea, and an eastern front from the Donbas towards Kharkiv. Ukraine enacted martial law, ordered a general mobilisation, and severed diplomatic relations with Russia.

"On conducting a special military operation" (Russian: О проведении специальной военной операции, romanized: O provedenii spetsialʹnoy voyennoy operatsii) was a televised broadcast by Russian president Vladimir Putin on 24 February 2022, announcing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It addressed both the citizens of Russia and of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Russia and Ukraine, and the international community. Putin announced that Russia was launching a "special military operation" to defend the Russian-speaking territories in eastern Ukraine—the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic—under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. Russian elements in the separatist regions had been at war with Ukraine since 2014, and Russia had recently become the first state to recognize them as independent. Putin claimed that Ukraine had been committing genocide against Russian speakers in the region; that Ukraine's government were neo-Nazis under Western control; that Ukraine was developing nuclear weapons; and that NATO was building up military infrastructure in Ukraine, threatening Russia. These allegations were widely rejected as untrue.

On 24 February 2022, during the Russo-Ukrainian war, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting the current phase of the war, the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. By April 2022, the invasion's initial goal of a rapid Russian victory via decapitation had failed, with Ukraine pushing back the northern arm of the invasion and preventing the capture of Kyiv. Following this, the war transitioned to more conventional fighting in the south and east of Ukraine.

In a televised address, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the invasion, calling it a "special military operation". He said that its purpose was to support the Russian-backed breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose paramilitary forces had been fighting Ukraine in the war in Donbas since 2014. Putin espoused irredentist and imperialist views challenging Ukraine's legitimacy as a state, baselessly claimed that the Ukrainian government were neo-Nazis committing genocide against the Russian minority in the Donbas, and said that Russia's goal was to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine.

Russia has falsely claimed that Ukraine has committed genocide against Russian Ukrainians living in the Donbas since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014. This allegation was repeated by Russia's president Vladimir Putin with regard to the War in Donbas, which involved heavy fighting between Ukraine and Russian separatists for eight years, and was ultimately cited by him as a cause for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. There is no evidence to support the allegation and it has been widely rejected among the international community.

In response to Russia's allegation, Ukraine submitted a case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), asserting that Putin's government had used false rhetoric to justify the "special military operation" in Ukraine and also highlighting "acts of genocide" in and beyond Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. During the proceedings of Ukraine v. Russian Federation, the ICJ stated that it had found no evidence of a genocide of Russians by Ukraine, with the International Association of Genocide Scholars expressing the same view. Further reports by 30 scholars of genocide and international law warned of Russia's engagement in the "accusation in a mirror" technique, which was indicative of the Russian incitement to commit genocide against Ukrainians.