Monday, December 27, 2021
Air defense on the western border
Russia starts next military maneuver
Around 1,000 Russian soldiers are said to be involved in the exercise: They are rehearsing on the country’s western border in the event of an air strike. Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov warns of an escalation similar to the Cuban crisis in view of the tensions with the West.
In the Ukraine conflict, Russia is again demonstrating military strength. Armed forces undertook further military maneuvers on the Russian western border, as reported by the Interfax news agency. Defense against an air attack had been practiced. Around 1,000 soldiers were involved. Only last week Russia held military exercises in areas near Ukraine. According to the military, more than 10,000 soldiers are said to have returned to their bases afterwards.
The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has now warned again of an escalation similar to the Cuba crisis in 1962, in which the USA and the Soviet Union were on the verge of nuclear war due to the stationing of nuclear missiles. Russia considers the risk of a new missile crisis to be serious, said Ryabkov, according to the RIA agency.
Tensions in the conflict in which the government in Moscow supports pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine had recently increased. It is estimated that the Russian military has concentrated 60,000 to 90,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine. In Ukraine, the US, NATO and the European Union, this has led to fears that Russia is planning an attack on its neighboring country.
Russia has repeatedly denied this and is instead demanding security guarantees from the West, including a commitment from NATO not to expand further east. Ukraine, in turn, wants to join the Western military alliance. In view of the tensions, the German government is increasingly seeking contact with the leadership in Moscow. The foreign policy advisor to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Jens Plötner, and his Russian colleague Dmitri Kosak are due to meet for deliberations at the beginning of January.