A total of more than 140 ships, more than 60 aircraft and around 1,000 pieces of other military equipment are involved in the exercises planned for January and February, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday, according to Russian news agencies.
According to this, about 10,000 soldiers should take part in the maneuver.
Kremlin: Biden’s comments could provoke war
Earlier, the Kremlin warned of the danger of an escalation in the Ukraine conflict in the face of new threats by US President Joe Biden against Russia. The statements do not contribute to relaxation and could lead to a destabilization of the situation, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday in Moscow, according to the Interfax agency.
“They could give false hope to the hotheads of some representatives of the Ukrainian leadership that they will decide to start a civil war again and solve the problem in the south-east (Donbass) by force.”
For months, the United States and NATO have accused Russia of planning an attack on Ukraine. Moscow rejects this every day. Above all, Russia wants to use the deployment near Ukraine to create a threatening backdrop because, according to its own statements, it sees itself increasingly threatened by NATO expansion.
Biden warned: “You will pay a high price”
On Wednesday, Biden again threatened Moscow with tough sanctions in the event of an invasion: “If they do that, they will pay a high price. Immediately, in the short term, in the medium term and in the long term.” Biden said he suspects that Russian soldiers would invade Ukraine, but does not believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants “a full-fledged war”.
Putin and Biden spoke to each other twice in December about the conflict. The Kremlin did not rule out a new talk, but wanted to wait for Washington’s response to Moscow’s demands for binding security guarantees. “The presidents themselves decide about their contacts,” said Peskov.
This Friday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US colleague Antony Blinken want to meet in Geneva. It should be about the next steps in connection with the security guarantees, said a spokeswoman.
Source: Nachrichten
