Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that Russia will increase its military dispatch close to its borders with NATO nations while criticizing the United States and its allies for backing Ukraine.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting with graduates of higher military schools at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 21, 2023. (Source: Egor Aleev, Pool/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)
Strengthening NATO Forces Causes the Russia Increase in Military Dispatch
At a gathering of defense officials on Wednesday, Shoigu said that in response to what he claimed was a buildup of forces by NATO countries, “strengthening of troop formations” on Russia’s western borders was required.
He specifically mentioned the “militarization of Poland” and claimed that Finland and Sweden joining NATO would “seriously destabilize” the security of Russia. According to him, there are around 360,000 service members dispatched close to the borders of Russia and its partner Belarus when the armed forces of eastern European nations are taken into account.
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NATO Part of the Largest War in Europe
The 18-month-old invasion of Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin has sparked the largest war in Europe since World War II and reenergized NATO as members of the defense alliance deploy billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to help the government in Kyiv defend itself. Finland joined NATO as a result of the conflict, while Sweden is currently undergoing the ratification process.
While denying that Russia had begun the war, Shoigu claimed that the U.S. and its allies’ arming of Ukraine “creates serious risks of further escalation of the conflict.” Amid rising tensions with NATO, Russia declared in January that it will increase the size of its military from its current target level of 1.15 million personnel to 1.5 million. The speed at which the expansion will happen has not been specified by the Kremlin.
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