NATO announced last week that it plans to mobilize some 90,000 soldiers for major maneuvers. Their aim is to deter Russia. The military exercise, which starts in February, would be the scenario for a Russian attack on allied territory. According to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, the alliance must respond militarily in that case.
LOOK. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: “West wants to escalate conflict”
As expected, Russia is not happy with NATO’s plans. “These exercises are once again an example of the hybrid war that the West is waging against Russia,” Minister Grushko responded to the Ria Novosti news agency. In a hybrid war, the parties not only use military resources such as weapons against each other, but they also try to weaken each other in other ways. This concerns, for example, cyber attacks, espionage, sabotage of infrastructure, and so on.
According to Grushko, NATO’s plans “significantly increase the risk of military incidents and further destabilize the security situation.” “But the interests of European security are of little concern today to those who lead NATO,” he said.