evidence: For the Russian government, the positioning of this as a defensive action, in the state of the nation speech, stops short of it being a declared war. A full declaration of war would allow for for a greater level of conscription, and for diverting more resource towards the military campaign. However, Russia has already invested heavily in the war, with all of its impact on the Russian economy and oligarch wealth, as well as its connectivity with the wider world being restricted after many countries cut flights to Russian cities. [...] Formally declaring war on Ukraine would reduce Russia’s ability to manage the response of western powers. Nato and European powers similarly do not wish to be dragged into deploying their own armed forces in Ukraine. Only when both sides no longer see advantage in fighting will talks commence. The fiction of there being no "formal" war in Ukraine might seem ridiculous. It has not stopped Russia from mobilising large numbers of conscripts and diverting resource to their war effort. But it potentially acts as a circuit breaker on a wider international conflict.