The Russian invasion of Ukraine, commonly understood as a war but
dubbed Специальная Военная Операция or ‘military special operation’ by the
aggressor, has from its outbreak on February 24, 2002, been evaluated by
neighboring states and other European and NATO countries in terms of their
own military role, and the risks of their intervention in it. This chapter will in
all brevity focus on the political and, as its resonance, public discourse on a
primarily legal issue: that of determining the moment from which one becomes
an involved party in the conflict and thus a party ‘in war with another’, here
Russia.