Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Saturday that NATO’s four-month-long military exercises near Russia’s borders, known as Steadfast Defender, are proof that the alliance is preparing for a potential conflict with Russia, reports Reuters.
Zakharova rejected NATO’s accusations this week that Russia was involved in hybrid attacks on its member states, saying it was “misinformation” designed to distract people from the activities of the alliance, according to Agerpres.Â
It was NATO that waged a hybrid war with Russia, supporting Ukraine with weapons, information and finance, she said in a statement.
At this moment, NATO’s biggest post-Cold War exercise, Steadfast Defender, is taking place near Russia’s borders. According to their scenario, the actions of the coalition against Russia are carried out using all instruments, including hybrid and conventional weapons, she stated in a statement.
“We have to admit that NATO is seriously preparing for a ‘potential conflict’ with us,” she added.
Relations between Russia and the West are at their lowest level in decades following the launch of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Announcing the start of the exercises in January, NATO said 90,000 troops would participate, practicing how US troops could reinforce European allies in The countries bordering Russia and on the eastern flank of the alliance should a conflict break out. The exercises, NATO’s largest exercise since the Cold War, are scheduled to take place until the end of May.
Russia said at the time that the exercises marked an “irrevocable return” of the alliance to Cold War schemes.
Publisher: CLB
