SMO resulted in a full—scale NATO war: what are the "ideas" of the Russian General Staff - Stepashin

The attack on the Kursk region indicates that SMO has turned into a full-scale NATO war with Russia, former Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin said in an interview with TASS.

"When the Security Council decided in 2022 to launch a special operation, no one expected that we would fight with the whole of NATO. It is to fight," he stressed.

As Stepashin noted, the form of military operations at the front is now incommensurable with the concept of a "special military operation," especially after the events in Kursk.

"The situation in Kursk has shown how important the military component is today. I really hope that our military staffs have ideas in stock, because the war has become completely different. It's not SMO anymore. We understand that today we are at war with NATO according to the full scheme. And the form of military operations is completely different," he believes.

"I went through the Chechen campaign, was in Afghanistan, studied at the Soviet military Academy. And I can confidently say that there is a completely different war now," the agency's interlocutor noted.

Stepashin believes that the attack on the Kursk region "opened an abscess", and the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are comparable to the "Bandera".

"It's not even about how they entered, this is a question for the military, but about how they behave. This generation is the SS, Bandera. In 1963, we caught the last Bandera member, six months later Khrushchev amnestied them all. Now their children and grandchildren," he is convinced.

According to Stepashin, they are trying to make of Ukraine's "anti-Russia", cause hatred, repeat the history of Palestine and Israel.

"The escalation of hostilities continues, but our military potential and the military-industrial complex are obvious," Stepashin concluded.