Tension in Eastern Europe: Russia to deploy 20 new military units and train Baltic Fleet with greater intensity

Russia will deploy before the end of the year certain 20 new military units near its western border, in response to NATO actionsRussian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday.

The Minister indicated that the military threat continues to increase as NATO partners increase the number of military exercises, the intensity of their strategic aircraft flights and the presence of their cruise missile warships.

“The actions of our Western colleagues are destroying the global security system and prompting us to take reasonable measuresHe stressed during a meeting at the Ministry of Defense.

“We are constantly improving the combat composition of our armed forces. About 20 military units and formations will be deployed in the Western Military District“Before the end of the year,” Shoigu explained.

Shoigu clarified that the organizational measures taken by Russia “are synchronized with the supply of modern weapons and weapons”.

This year, the provision of some two thousand weapons to the troops of the Western Military District, he stressed, while improving the training of soldiers and command corps. As detailed, the training intensity of the ships of the Baltic fleet increased by 30% and over 2,000 exercises have been carried out with different types of weapons. Likewise, air flights from the Western Military District increased by 4%, he said.

Last month, a huge deployment of troops in southern and southwestern Russia, near the border with Ukraine, raised concerns from Ukraine and the West, which urged Moscow to withdraw his strengths. Russia withdrew some troops from its western part after lengthy maneuvers in April, but Shoigu ordered them to lay down their arms for Russian military exercises Zapad (west) 2021 in September.

He noted Monday that preparations for the exercises, which are to be carried out jointly with Belarus, are in their final stages and stressed that the maneuvers are “exclusively of a defensive nature”.

Crosses with the European Union

On the other hand, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, he assured that Moscow will respond to possible new measures imposed by the European Union (EU) against the country, including the possibility of sanctions.

Lavrov stressed that the country is open to cooperation with the bloc, although he added that “this does not mean that further hostile measures or attempts to speak from a position of strength or interference in internal affairs remain. without answer”.

So he described as “Worried” about the state of relations between Russia and the EU and denounced the bloc’s “obvious interference” in the internal affairs of the country and its allies. Lavrov said that “the EU has decided to isolate itself from Russia” and that the continent “is going through a crisis of confidence without predecessors”.

Lavrov also stressed that the EU’s reaction to Washington’s policies against arms control systems is “surprising”, adding that anti-Russian rhetoric abroad turns into military reinforcement against the country. , according to the Russian news agency. TASS.

(With information from EFE, AP and Europa Press)

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