In 2014 Russia categorically claimed is has nothing to do with its military operations in Ukraine, Putin and Russian diplomats called it "nonsense", "fear mongering" etc. Many Western media and politicians happily followed this Russia-imposed political correctness, applying euphemisms such as "little green men" and "pro-Russian separatists" even when OSCE and Western reporters saw military convoys crossing from Russia into Ukraine with their own eyes. Today Russians don't care - here's one of many interviews with "veterans" aired publicly on state media. This particular veteran is a regular Russian soldier from Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, thousands of kilometers from Ukraine, who had been in active service since 2014 - and he's hiding it anymore.