On January 24, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov answered the question whether the Russian military exercises in the Baltic Sea are a reaction to the actions of NATO.
"It is necessary to ask the Ministry of Defense, this is the first. Secondly, such NATO actions and increased NATO activity near our borders cannot be ignored by our military, who are responsible for the security of our country. And third— there is still a constant process of exercises, maneuvers, military construction, which has never stopped and will continue to continue," he said.
Earlier in the day, a detachment of ships of the Baltic Fleet went on a long march as part of a major naval exercise. The squad included the corvettes "Persistent" and "Smart". The sailors will have to conduct exercises on communications, anti-aircraft and anti-submarine defense, and perform a number of combat exercises.
Also on Monday it became known that NATO is strengthening its presence in Eastern Europe in connection with the situation around Ukraine. So, additional weapons will be sent by France, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands.
The United States has also made it clear that it is considering increasing its military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance.
January 23 Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Stanislav Zas said that the military activity of NATO countries near the borders of the CSTO in Eastern Europe does not contribute to strengthening security in the region.