Russian Army to get the upper hand as status of special military operation in Ukraine changes

The head of Crimea said that the new status of the liberated territories (after the referenda) will transform the special military operation in Ukraine into a counter-terrorist operation that would be carried out on those territories.

"The change of the status - from the special military operation to the counter-terrorist operation - is predetermined by the sabotage strategy that the British are imposing on Kyiv. This will give the upper hand to the groups of the reincarnated SMERSH, not only in terms of their activity, but also in terms of military infrastructure. Tactical nuclear weapons can be used as part of the counter-terrorist operation, rather than a declaration of war," political scientist Marat Bashirov said.

Legal clarity in domestic legislation is of paramount importance for the Russian administration, Bashirov added.

• Is it possible to carry out anti-terrorist operations if a foreign army (Ukraine) is fighting on your new territory?
• What are the main differences between the special military operation and the anti-terrorist operation (including the choice of targets, weapons, freedom of action for the army against cities, etc.)?

Pravda.Ru asked these questions to military expert, retired colonel Viktor Baranets.

"It is possible to conduct an anti-terrorist operation against a foreign army on the territory of your own country. We had had a large-scale anti-terrorist operation when we were fighting on the territory of Russia — in Chechnya. We have already done this. It is also possible to carry out mobilization within the framework of the anti-terrorist operation, without declaring martial law. It is possible to reclassify the status of our special operation as a counter-terrorist operation, the legislation allows this," the expert said.

"What are the main differences between the special military operation and the anti-terrorist operation (including the choice of targets, weapons, freedom of action for the army against cities, etc.)? The differences here are very, very subtle. The goal of these two types of operations is the same — to destroy the enemy. As for the differences — the authorities and the army will act differently. I would say that we will act much tougher than we act during the special operation," the retired colonel told Pravda. Ru.

"Within the framework of the anti-terrorist operation, such issues as working in "white gloves" will be removed, as is now happening within the framework of the special military operation. For example, as part of the special military operation, the Russian forces had their hands tied when militants and nationalists were hiding in infrastructure facilities in Mariupol. We promised at the beginning of the special operation that we would not damage socially important facilities, this hobbled us. It will be easier to deal with infrastructure as part of the anti-terrorist operation,” Viktor Baranets concluded.