NATO Increases Military Presence in Europe, US Destabilizing Afghanistan, Says Shoigu

The North Atlantic Alliance is using the Ukrainian crisis as a pretext to increase its formations in Eastern and Central Europe, while the United States is destabilizing Afghanistan and the region. This was announced today by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.

"NATO is using the Ukrainian crisis as an opportunity to bolster its formations. A new phase of the Alliance's expansion has begun. The military infrastructure in Eastern and Central Europe is being modernized, strike weapons are being deployed, and the scale and intensity of joint exercises are increasing," Shoigu said while speaking at a meeting of defense ministers from CSTO member states.

He noted that the largest of the exercises will be Defender Europe 2023, which will also engage countries that are not members of the Alliance.

Shoigu pointed out that another alarming factor is the rising aggressive rhetoric and the joint "nuclear missions" of NATO countries in Eastern Europe, which involve the development of delivery systems for nuclear weapons and the enhancement of components of the US global missile defense system.

He said that shipments of depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine, provocations, and attempts to strike strategic facilities of the Russian Federation are also part of this issue. Meanwhile, the US intends to use the potential of illegal armed groups in Afghanistan to destabilize the situation in the region, Shoigu stated.

"Afghanistan continues to remain another hotspot of instability. The primary threat comes from illegal armed groups that have significantly strengthened their positions in the country since the Taliban's rise to power (the Taliban movement is subject to UN sanctions for terrorist activities - ed.). We believe that the US intends to leverage the capabilities of these terrorist organizations to destabilize the situation in the region," Shoigu said.

He emphasized that for this purpose, the transfer of militants from controlled bandit groups in the Middle East to Afghanistan is being organized, with potential incursions into neighboring countries planned, specifically to carry out terrorist acts. "In this context, we find it important to coordinate efforts towards Afghanistan and pay proper attention to joint exercises in both bilateral and multilateral formats," the Russian defense minister noted.

At the same time, Shoigu mentioned that instead of working to revive Afghanistan, NATO countries are trying to restore their military presence in Central Asia through various means after their hasty withdrawal. "We assess this as a direct threat to stability in that area and in the CSTO space in general," the Russian defense minister declared.