Mick Clifford: Along with the truth, language is one of the first deaths when a despot goes to war

It's no surprise that Russia has banned describing its assault on Ukraine as it is. More remarkably, the UN appears to have bought into the propaganda 

Nothing to see here: Russian president Vladimir Putin meeting female flight crew members ahead of International Women's Day during a visit to the Aeroflot Aviation School last Saturday. Picture: Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik/AP

When is a war not a war? When it’s a conflict. When is an invasion not an invasion? When it’s a special operation.