A total of more than 140 ships, more than 60 aircraft and around 1,000 pieces of other military equipment are involved in the exercises planned for January and February, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Thursday, according to Russian news agencies. Around 10,000 soldiers are said to take part.
Troops on the Ukrainian border
Because of massive Russian troop movements on the Ukrainian border, the West fears an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine. Moscow argues that the troop deployment is taking place on Russian territory and therefore threatens “nobody”. For weeks, the West has been threatening Moscow with massive consequences if it invades Ukraine.
Diplomatic efforts to contain the crisis are currently in full swing. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock received US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, her French colleague Jean-Yves Le Drian and Great Britain’s Deputy Foreign Secretary James Cleverly for consultations in Berlin on Thursday. A meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva is on Blinken’s agenda on Friday.