NATO military exercises show preparation for possible conflict with Russia, says Moscow

The Western military alliance’s four-month-long military exercises near Russia’s borders, known as Steadfast Defender, are proof that the alliance is preparing for a possible conflict with Russia, a report said. -spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry this Saturday.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected accusations made by NATO this week that Russia is involved in hybrid attacks against its member states, saying it was misleading “disinformation” aimed at distracting people from NATO activities. alliance.

In a statement, she said it was NATO that waged a hybrid war with Russia by supporting Ukraine with weapons, intelligence and finances.

“Right now, the largest NATO exercise since the Cold War, Steadfast Defender, is taking place near Russia’s borders. According to its scenario, the coalition’s actions against Russia are being practiced using all instruments, including hybrid weapons and conventional,” she said in a statement.

“We have to admit that NATO is seriously preparing for a ‘potential conflict’ with us.”

Relations between Russia and the West are at their most hostile point in decades following the start of Russia’s military conflict in Ukraine in 2022.

When announcing the start of the exercises in January, NATO said 90,000 troops would participate, rehearsing how U.S. troops could reinforce European allies in countries bordering Russia and on the alliance’s eastern flank if a conflict broke out. The training, the alliance’s largest exercise since the Cold War, is scheduled to run until May.

At the time, Russia said the exercises marked an “irrevocable return” of the alliance to Cold War schemes.