Three years of SMO — conclusions and lessons for the West: experts

The beginning of a special military operation (SMO) was a forced measure taken as a preemptive strike before a possible invasion of Russian territory. This is stated by experts interviewed Pravda.Ru .

Alexey Bychkov, director of the Institute of International Relations "Cooperation", emphasizes that the main results of SMO are not so much military successes or territorial acquisitions as global geopolitical changes. According to him, SMO has shown the whole world which states profess aggressive rhetoric and which alliances pose a threat.

"This is an important stage that completes the post-Cold War period and the so—called Cold War 2.0," he said.

Bychkov also recalled the Munich speech of the President of Russia, where the issues of Europe's loss of sovereignty and departure from democratic values were raised.

The expert paid special attention to the expansion of NATO, which, in his opinion, went against the promises of the West given after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"For 30 years we have seen the approach not of a defensive, but of an aggressive alliance that bombed Yugoslavia, invaded Iraq also imposed democracy by force," the political scientist emphasized.

He also refuted the thesis that SMO is Russia's war against Ukraine. He pointed out that the Russian army carried out exclusively targeted strikes, unlike conflicts in the Middle East, where civilians were subjected to mass attacks. Bychkov also noted that SMO has managed to achieve most of its goals in three years: the territories of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics have been practically liberated, and a land corridor to Crimea has been secured.

In his opinion, the only unfulfilled task remains the overthrow of the nationalist government of Ukraine, which, as he stated, is already "on the edge of the abyss" due to the political crisis and attempts to retain power. The speaker expressed confidence that this will happen in the near future, after which the goals of SMO will be finally fulfilled.

Military expert, Doctor of Military Sciences, Major General Vyacheslav Kruglov summed up some SMO results.

"First of all, the Russian Federation has defended Donbass, returned Crimea and four regions that we have recorded in the The Constitution. And this is 20% of the territory. Secondly, Ukraine has fallen so much in this war, in this operation, that Ukraine itself does not have enough forces and means to restore it. And this will be handled by Western countries that will use their resources in the interests of Ukraine, instead of using these resources against the Russian Federation," he believes.

According to the Major General, Russia has shown that it can act decisively if its interests are threatened.

"This is a conclusion and a lesson for the West, which thought that it could somehow inflict a partial military or complete economic defeat on Russia. And finally, the Russian Federation has also made very serious conclusions for itself on how to build the armed forces, what military equipment and weapons are needed, and how to use the armed forces," Kruglov concluded.