NATO concentrating over 40,000 troops near Russian border

NATO will concentrate 40,000 troops and 15,000 items of armament and military hardware near Russian borders, basically in the Black Sea and Baltic regions, Russia’s Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday, Eurasia Diary reports citing Tass.

Overall, "40,000 troops and 15,000 items of armament and military hardware, including strategic aircraft, will be concentrated" near the Russian borders, the defense chief said.

The American troops are now redeploying from continental North America to Europe through the Atlantic, Shoigu said.

"The troops in Europe are moving towards Russian borders. The basic forces are being amassed in the Black Sea area and in the Baltic region," the defense chief said.

As the Russian defense minister pointed out, "US force groupings are being reinforced in Poland and the Baltic states, the American ‘four thirties’ concept has been adopted and is being implemented and the intensity of air reconnaissance has grown twofold and naval reconnaissance by 50% compared to last year."

"The alliance annually holds up to 40 large operational training measures of a clearly anti-Russian bias in Europe. In the spring of this year, the NATO allied forces launched Defender Europe 2021 drills, the largest exercise over the past 30 years," Russia’s defense chief stressed.