On Thursday, December 10, at a meeting with foreign military attaches, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov commented on Western accusations that Moscow was allegedly concentrating forces on the border with Ukraine and preparing an invasion of a neighboring state.
"NATO countries pay excessive attention to the movement of troops on the territory of Russia. The redeployment of units during combat training is a routine practice for the armed forces of any state. Military activity is carried out on national territory and does not require notification. The information spread in the media about Russia's allegedly impending invasion of Ukraine is a lie," the general said.
At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that the supply of helicopters, drones and airplanes is pushing the Ukrainian authorities to take drastic and dangerous steps. "Kiev is not fulfilling the Minsk agreements. The Ukrainian armed forces declare the beginning of the use of Javelin ATGMs in the Donbas, which were supplied by the United States, and also use reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicles of Turkish production. As a result, the already tense situation in the east of this country is escalating. However, any provocations by the Ukrainian authorities to resolve the problems of Donbass by force will be stopped," the Chief of the General Staff is sure.
In his opinion, the degradation of the arms control system affects the growing tension in the world. Gerasimov believes that a different approach is needed to it today. Therefore, Russia has proposed a "new security equation." It covers all types of offensive and defensive weapons that affect strategic stability, as well as new areas of confrontation - cyberspace, space, artificial intelligence.
Every year, about 40 major NATO military exercises take place near our borders. This year, the Defender of Europe maneuvers were held with the participation of not only the alliance countries, but also non-aligned Sweden, Finland, and Austria. Significant contingents of troops have been deployed to the borders of the Russian Federation. "The exercises have been completed, but at the same time, part of the US equipment has not been withdrawn from Europe to date," the general stressed.
He also noted that the US strategic aviation has significantly increased overflights of the Russian borders, during which cruise missile launches are being trained on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation. According to our General Staff, only in the last month about 30 sorties were made, which is 2.5 times more than in the same period last year.
Yuri Gavrilov
