News of War Staff Writer
Army soldier figurines are displayed in front of the NATO logo and Russian flag colours background in this illustration taken, February 13, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/
Russia Declares NATO's Steadfast Defender 2024 Drills a Return to Cold War Tactics
The magnitude of NATO's Steadfast Defender 2024 exercises signifies a definitive resurgence of Cold War strategies, stated Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander
Grushko in a discussion with the state-owned RIA news agency, as reported on Sunday.
NATO, on Thursday, announced the initiation of its most extensive training operation since the Cold War, mobilising roughly 90,000 troops.
The exercise focuses on simulating the deployment of U.S. forces to bolster European allies near Russia's borders and along NATO's eastern periphery, in the event of an escalation with a "near-peer" adversary.
"These drills represent a further aspect of the hybrid warfare initiated by the West against Russia," Grushko informed RIA.
"An exercise of such magnitude... signifies a definitive and unalterable shift back to the Cold War frameworks, where military planning, resources, and infrastructure are being adapted for a confrontation with Russia."
In its announcement, NATO did not explicitly refer to Russia. However, its principal strategic document labels Russia as the most significant and direct threat to the security of NATO members.
In February 2022, Russia embarked on a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which Kyiv and its Western allies have condemned as an unwarranted imperialistic territorial acquisition.
Moscow, along with its primary diplomat, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, has repeatedly accused "the collective West" of waging a "hybrid war" against Russia by supporting Ukraine with financial and military assistance.