Photo: Collected
NATO's large-scale Steadfast Defender drills indicate that the alliance is preparing for a "potential conflict" with Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday (4 May).
NATO kicked off Steadfast Defender 24 in January. The war games are running through May and include over 90,000 troops from all 32 member states. During the drills, the allies plan to test out a conflict scenario against a "near-peer adversary" in accordance with Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which states that an attack on one ally is considered an attack against the entire NATO and allows for the provision of appropriate assistance.
"Right now, NATO is conducting its largest drills since the Cold War, Steadfast Defender, near the Russian border. According to their scenario, using all the tools, including the hybrid ones and conventional weapons, they are exercising coalition actions against Russia. We have to admit that the NATO states are seriously preparing for a ‘potential conflict’ with us, about which, by the way, high-ranking NATO representatives are openly talking about," Zakharova said in a statement published by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
By accusing Russia of hybrid attacks on NATO member states, the alliance is trying to mislead European and US populations in order to divert public attention from NATO's actions, the diplomat added.
Messenger/Mumu
