1 of 2 Photo from November 24, 2023 shows British NATO troops on patrol in Jarinje in Kosovo on the border with Serbia Photo: Valdrin Xhemaj/Portal Photo from November 24, 2023 shows British NATO troops on patrol in Jarinje in Kosovo, on the border with Serbia Photo: Valdrin Xhemaj/Portal
“An exercise of this magnitude marks NATO's final and irrevocable return to Cold War strategies, when the military planning process, resources and infrastructure were prepared for the confrontation with Russia,” the minister told the state news agency LAUGH.
“These exercises are another element of the hybrid war that the West has unleashed against Russia,” Grushko told RIA.
Last Thursday, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced that it would call up 90,000 troops from alliance member countries and Sweden (more on this below).
NATO's main strategic document identifies Russia as the most significant and immediate threat to the security of the organization's members.
The military will take part in a series of joint exercises that work with the scenario of a “Russian attack,” according to NATO General Commander in Europe General Christopher Cavoli.
Moscow and its top diplomat, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, often accuse the West of waging a “hybrid war” against Russia and supporting Ukraine with financial and military aid.
2 of 2 The NATO military exercise is the largest since the Cold War. — Photo: Kayan Albertin/g1 The NATO military exercise is the largest since the Cold War. — Photo: Kayan Albertin/g1
According to NATO information for the military exercise More than 1,200 combat vehicles are mobilized:
- At least 50 shipsfrom aircraft carriers to destroyers;
- More than 80 fighter planes, helicopters and drones;
- At least 1,100 combat vehiclesincluding 133 tanks and 533 infantry fighting vehicles.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russia claimed it was fending off a threat from NATO, which was in talks with the Ukrainian government about the country's possible entry into the bloc.
Since then, negotiations have stalled, but after the outbreak of war, Finland, Russia's neighbor and with a border more than 1,300 kilometers long, decided to join NATO.
NATO's record call also comes as Russia has stepped up airstrikes on major cities in Ukraine in a show of strength after failing to make progress on the front lines for months.
Russian soldiers currently control around 20% of Ukrainian territory, in areas in the east and south of the country.