Shoygu: NATO presence near Russian border forces us to retaliate
The scale of NATO’s military presence and activity near Russia’s borders has caused Moscow to retaliate. This was said by the Russian Defense Minister, Sergey Shoygu, at a board meeting of the military department on the 29th of June, Radio Svoboda reported.
“These actions by the West are undermining the strategic stability in Europe and are forcing us to take retaliatory measures, primarily in a western strategic direction,” Shoygu stated.
He said that actions for strategic deterrence are being executed in order to neutralize potential threats in the Western Military District (WMD). “A lot of attention is being paid to supplying units and formations of the district with modern weapons as well as military and special equipment. The WMD will receive over 2,000 units of new and upgraded equipment this year,” Shoygu said.
According to the Ministry’s statement, Shoygu has stressed that particular concern has been caused by the placement of a US missile defense system in eastern Europe.
Shoygu has also not ruled the fact that NATO’s military presence and activities near Russia’s borders “may increase significantly” after the Warsaw summit.
The US Ambassador to Russia, John Tefft, had previously said that Russia had committed an act of aggression against Ukraine and that all subsequent actions of NATO were a response to that act.