The United Nations' Department of Global Communications instructed staff of the international organisation not to refer to the situation in Ukraine as a «war» or «invasion», in a move to balance political sensitivities as powerful member state Russia cracks down domestically on those who use the words.

Instead, UN staff were instructed to use the terms «conflict» or «military offensive» to describe Russia’s invasion of its neighbour, which has killed hundreds of civilians and forced two million people to flee the country.

In an email to a staff mailing list on Monday with the subject line «Ukraine crisis communications guidelines», the director of the United Nations Regional Information Centre instructed employees not to describe the situation as a war and not to add the Ukrainian flag to personal or official social media accounts or websites.

A later email sent to UN staff on Tuesday morning, also seen by The Irish Times, suggests the language policy regarding Ukraine was updated to reverse the initial guidance and allow for the use of «war» and «invasion».