A Russian general commented on Monday that Moscow was likely to increase its military forces on its European borders should the U.S. decide to store heavy weapons in the Baltic and Eastern Europe.
Related to this, a U.S. military official noted over the weekend that Washington was evaluating a plan to store a variety of heavy equipment in Northern and Eastern Europe to reassure allies worried about Russia recent aggressions.
Statement from Russian officials
“If heavy U.S. military equipment, including tanks, artillery batteries and other equipment really does turn up in countries in eastern Europe and the Baltics, that will be the most aggressive step by the Pentagon and NATO since the Cold War,” Senior Russian General Yuri Yakubov commented on Monday.
“Russia would be left with no other option but to boost its troops and forces on the western flank,” Yakubov continued, according to Interfax.
He went on to say Russia would deploy new tank, artillery and air units on its western border. The general then said the country would also accelerate the deployment of new Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad and beef up in Belarus.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:. “There were no statements from the United States to that end so I have no comment for now,” he said in a conference call with the media. “We will comment if there is a statement.”
New European arms race?
The pathetically hypocritical Russians are kicking up a big fuss about the recent U.S. offer to store heavy military equipment in allied countries in eastern Europe. Defense officials say the idea is to reassure European governments worried that they could become the Kremlin’s next target given its ongoing aggression in Ukraine.
Government officials in both Poland and the Baltic states have privately expressed frustrations that NATO alliance has not taken a stronger stand to deter Russia, enthusiastically supported the decision to take at least a small defensive step to counter Russian military aggression.
Other countries in the area are more cautious, worried about being caught in the middle of a new cold war arms race.
More on U.S. plans to store weapons in Europe
U.S. officials noted over the weekend that they are planning to store enough heavy equipment for a company, roughly 150 soldiers, in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
In addition, enough equipment for up to a battalion, or around 750 soldiers, would also be located in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and possibly Hungary.
The military strategy behind the proposal is that in the event of an attack on NATO country in Eastern Europe, the U.S. would rapidly deploy troops who could use the equipment, significantly reducing the weeks it would take to move convoys of heavy military gear across Europe.
The new proposal, however, is creating tensions within NATO as it tries to accommodate more hawkish members such as Poland or Lithuania and other states such as Hungary that will let Russia get away with almost anything as they are desperately afraid of military conflict.
Addressing the media in Warsaw together with the U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak commented that he expected a U.S. decision on the matter within a month or so.
“They know how important this is to us, because we want to build a permanent U.S. presence, the allied army here on the Polish territory,” Siemoniak said. “It seems to me that such enterprises, that is equipment warehouses, are a very crucial step when it comes to building such a presence.”
Continued provocations from Russia in Europe and elsewhere
The whole world is, of course, aware of Putin’s unprovoked military attack on Eastern Ukraine as he tries to destabilize the current Western-leaning government in Kiev. Nobody any where in the world really believes the lies he and his henchmen spew about ex-Russian military “volunteers” supporting the Ukrainian separatists. Everyone knows Putin has moved a large number of regular Russian army assets to front in Eastern Ukraine as he continues his warmongering ways.
The Russian military is also saber-rattling in other parts of Europe. Both Finland and Sweden have reported numerous close flybys by Russian military aircraft in the last few months, and suspected Russian subs have also been spotted in territorial waters. The U.S. also recently lodged an official complaint regarding an incident involving a Russian fighter aircraft that nearly collided with an American reconnaissance plane in international airspace over Europe.
