The words “war” and “invasion” are apparently too politically incorrect for the United Nations, which has instructed staff to avoid using those terms in reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Instead, the U.N. communications department would like staff to use terms such as “conflict” or “military offensive” to describe the nearly universally condemned war of aggression waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin against his country’s smaller neighbor. Employees were also asked to refrain from describing the conflict as a war and from adding the Ukrainian flag to their personal or official social media accounts or websites.