About 360 thousand military personnel, taking into account the Armed Forces of the East European countries, are located in close proximity to the borders of the Union State. The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergey Shoigu said this at a meeting of the board of the military department.
, taking into account the Armed Forces of the Eastern European countries, in the immediate vicinity of the borders of the Union State, about 360 thousand military personnel, 8 thousand armored vehicles, 6 thousand artillery systems and mortars, 650 aircraft and helicopters were placed, ”he said.
According to the minister, since February 2022, the number of formations of the non -regional states of the North Atlantic bloc increased 2.5 times and exceeded 30 thousand people. “These threats of the military security of Russia require a timely and adequate response,” said Shoigu.
“In the western and north -west strategic directions, the threat of military security of the Russian Federation increased multiple. A serious destabilizing factor is the entry into the NATO of Finland, and in the future – Sweden. On the Finnish territory it is likely to place additional military contingents and NATO shock weapons capable of Significant depth to hit critical objects in the north -west of Russia, ”the minister said.
He recalled that after Helsinki’s accession to the Alliance, the land border of Russia with the Block countries has almost doubled.
In addition, the Russian Minister announced the existing risks associated with the militarization of Poland, which has turned into the main instrument of US anti -Russian policy.
“Warsaw announced the intention to build, according to the Poles,” the most powerful army on the continent. “In this regard, large -scale purchases of weapons from the United States of America, Great Britain and the Republic of Korea, including tanks, artillery systems, air defense/about the means and combat aircraft, ”added Shoigu.