Some 60,000 troops took part in the bloc’s exercises in Central and Eastern Europe as well as Scandinavia, Andrey Belousov has said
NATO is keeping a large-scale military presence near Russia’s borders, Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov has said, pointing to what he called the bloc’s increased training and reconnaissance activities.
Belousov made his remarks at a joint session of the Russian and Belarusian defense ministries on Wednesday. Cooperation between Moscow and Minsk remains a key factor in maintaining regional stability in light of the “openly hostile actions” of the West, he stated.
“The Alliance maintains a massive forward military presence on its eastern flank,” Belousov said. “The total strength of NATO troops involved in the exercises held on its eastern flank amounted to roughly 60,000.”
This year alone, the US-led military bloc held almost a dozen drills in Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Baltics and the Black Sea, which involved thousands of soldiers each.
Just one series of exercises, dubbed Defender 25, which was held throughout May and June, involved a total of 25,000 troops. The forces were deployed along the entire eastern border of the bloc, from Norway in the north to Bulgaria and Greece in the south, as part of the three-phase drill.
Other major NATO exercises included the 10,000-strong ‘Joint Viking 2025’ held in Norway in March, as well as the 16,000-strong ‘Hedgehog’ held in Estonia in May. The developments came amid increasingly belligerent statements from the European NATO members, which have repeatedly presented Russia as a threat since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that it has no intention to attack any NATO nations, calling such accusations unfounded.
It nonetheless warned that the bloc’s active involvement in the Ukraine conflict through weapons supplies and other assistance to Kiev risks a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.
Last month, Politico reported that EU officials were increasingly worried about tensions with Moscow potentially spilling into a major conflict akin to World War I. Russia, in turn, expressed its concerns over the fact that World War III was seriously being discussed in the West as a potential scenario.
