special military operation

Calque of Russian специа́льная вое́нная опера́ция (speciálʹnaja vojénnaja operácija), a phrase used by Vladimir Putin upon launching an attack on Ukraine on 24 February 2022: In this regard, in accordance with Article 51 of Part 7 of the UN Charter, with the approval of the Federation Council of Russia and in pursuance of the treaties of friendship and mutual assistance ratified by the Duma on 22 February with the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, I decided to launch a special military operation.

• "By undermining the effectiveness of the sanctions regime being imposed on Russia, China clearly hopes to weaken the compliance mechanism that keeps that order working and under American control. Beijing probably also has an eye on blunting the effectiveness of this particular mechanism so that it can’t be effectively deployed against China in the event that Beijing feels compelled to conduct its own “special military operation” against Taiwan."
• "China could be planning its own Russia-style “special military operation” in Taiwan, an island that the Chinese Communist Party insists is Chinese territory, according to reports from China."
• "China's "special military operation" will not take place now. Before that happens, China would have to carry out at least one major military maneuver with live fire in exercises that could end up taking place tomorrow according to a few posts ago highlighting the tuning between 2022 and 1995/1996."
• "Medvedev cited these supposed “Western analysts” in order to propagate Russia’s colonial fantasy: envisioning Ukraine’s territory reduced to just the Kyiv region, while the remainder of Ukraine would be divided among Russia, Poland, Romania, and Hungary. Such a narrative recalls Putin’s February 2022 speech questioning Ukraine’s statehood and accompanies intensifying Russian calls to expand its “special military operation” to realize its imperial map."
• "Beijing expresses understanding of reasons that made Russia begin the special military operation for protection of Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters Monday."
• "When asked if Beijing considers a special military operation against Taiwan possible, Liu Xiaoming said that the Chinese government reserves the right to take all necessary measures to ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country."
• "Repeated clashes between the two warring parties would threaten more Chinese people and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor if they expand, with displaced people fleeing toward the Chinese frontier. If that happens, Beijing could be forced to conduct its own “special military operation” in Myanmar’s territory to reestablish the buffer."

• SMO
• SVO

• nonwar
• police action