Russia admitted two years into its invasion of Ukraine on Friday that it was "in a state of war," as it launched a massive wave of missile and drone attacks on its neighbour's territory.
Russia fired almost 90 missiles and more than 60 Iranian-designed kamikaze drones, damaging "dozens" of energy facilities, including power stations, in what Ukrainian officials said was an attempt to cripple the country's electricity and heating network.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
"We are in a state of war," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview to a pro-Kremlin newspaper, published Friday.
The admission marks an escalation in official language used to describe the conflict, which the Kremlin initially referred to as a "special military operation".
"Yes, it started as a special military operation, but as soon as this bunch was formed there, when the collective West became a participant on Ukraine's side, for us it already became a war," Peskov said.
Moscow often accuses the West of direct participation in the conflict by supplying Ukraine with weapons.
Russian attacks hit at least nine regions -- from Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia near the front lines to Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine, hundreds of kilometres away from the fighting.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
