Xinhua:
MOSCOW, June 20 (Xinhua) — The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday accused the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of strengthening combat forces near Russia’s border and warned that Moscow will take mirror-like actions against NATO’s moves.
“Since the beginning of the year, NATO countries have conducted thirteen large-scale exercises in the South-West Strategic Area with over 40,000 troops and 2,000 units of military equipment,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting of the Defense Ministry’s senior officials in the city of Sevastopol in the Crimean peninsula.
“This forces us to take symmetrical measures to neutralize the emerging threats and combine strategic deterrence with increasing combat readiness,” he said.
