Russia Strongly Opposes NATO’s Military Exercise, Denouncing It as an Irrevocable Return to Cold War Schemes”
NATO announced on Thursday the commencement of its most extensive military exercise since the Cold War, involving approximately 90,000 troops. In response to NATO’s Steadfast Defender 2024 exercises, Russia expressed strong objections. Alexander Grushko, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, criticized the military maneuvers sharply in remarks published on Sunday during an interaction with the state RIA news agency.
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Referring to the exercises as an “irrevocable return of NATO to the Cold War schemes,” Grushko labeled them as another element of the hybrid war initiated by the West against Russia. He conveyed these sentiments to RIA, as quoted by news agency Reuters. Grushko emphasized that an exercise of such magnitude signifies the definitive and irreversible reversion of NATO to Cold War strategies, where military planning processes, resources, and infrastructure are geared for confrontation with Russia.
While NATO, in its announcement on Thursday, indicated that the exercise aimed to rehearse scenarios where US troops could support European allies in regions neighboring Russia and along the alliance’s eastern flank in the event of a conflict, it did not explicitly mention Russia by name.
It is noteworthy that Russia is currently engaged in a war against Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been actively pursuing NATO membership for his country. Against the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, NATO and the US have been providing financial and military assistance to Ukraine.
The Russia-Ukraine war, initiated by the Russian invasion in February 2022, has resulted in significant casualties on both sides. Russia claims to have occupied several regions of Ukrainian territory and has announced plans to conduct elections as part of the 2024 Russian presidential election.
