BERLIN, March 22. /TASS/. Germany has taken note of Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov’s words about Russia being in a "state of war," the German Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

"We have taken noted of this. Russia has been waging a war on Ukraine for a long time," the diplomat said, adding that Moscow’s views on the situation in the neighboring country "doesn’t change the awful reality on the ground."

"We are at war. Indeed, it started as a special military operation but as soon as a clique was formed and the collective West joined in on Ukraine’s side, it turned into war for us," the Kremlin spokesman said earlier in an interview with aif.ru.

Asked to clarify whether his previous statement about the special military operation being turned into a war changed the status of this conflict, the Kremlin spokesman said: "Essentially, the moment the collective West entered [the conflict], it turned into a war for us. This does not imply any legal changes. It is [still] a special military operation de jure." He also warned against comparing his use of the word "war" with what the participants in the protests against the special operation meant by it.