Shevtsov: growth of NATO reaction force creating threat of attack on us at any second

Representatives of NATO member states are currently reporting news of their plans to increase the size of the rapid reaction force as a sensation. However, during his talk with Alfa Radio, Director of the Center for European Integration Yuri Shevtsov shared the opinion that this is a planned process that has been going on for several years.

Yuri Shevtsov recalled what actions NATO had taken earlier, “The West gradually deployed in Eastern Europe, near the borders with Russia and Belarus, such elements of its armed forces that were not subject to restrictions under various agreements, e.g., warehouses, as they are now in Poland, where a large number of equipment and materiel is stored. In the same way, the West placed the controls, i.e., the headquarters, and tested signal communications.

The expert explained that this was done so that in the event of any threat, military equipment would not be transferred across the Atlantic Ocean. According to him, today it is possible to talk about a sharp increase in the number of rapid reaction force only because such preparations were made earlier. According to Shevtsov, now the alliance will have to transfer manpower and conduct combat co-ordination.

Programme host Vadim Shepet asked him what the location of a large NATO group near the borders of Belarus and Russia means for the Union State.

“In fact, this is the creation of a threat of attack on us at any second. Because such troops with a high degree of combat readiness, which they talk about, represent a serious danger. When there are so many soldiers near our borders, ready to attack at any moment, this is a serious threat. However, I repeat, this threat did not develop in one year. It was a long process,” the analyst explained, adding that this process was one of the reasons for the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine.

“Let me remind you that in December 2021, two months before the start of the special operation, Russia issued an ultimatum to NATO to stop such preparations. This concerned not only the concentration of troops near the borders of Russia and Belarus; it was also about the types of weapons deployed near the borders, etc. Therefore, what we see today is that lowered spring that was lowered a long time ago. Today it just goes to the level planned by them, meaning that the conflict that is going on in Ukraine is simply entering a new phase, much more dangerous than before,” the speaker said.

Vadim Shepet clarified whether all this could be a provocation for Russia and Belarus to start increasing the military budget.

“Of course, but I think the issue here is much more serious than the economic exhaustion of Russia and Belarus. Here there is a concentration of real armed forces with a very high degree of combat readiness. If the West wanted to simply exhaust us with an arms race, they would focus on something else, e.g., they would launch some new expensive types of weapons. In this case, it is not just about the depletion of Belarus and Russia. We are talking about a real military threat of a very high degree,” the expert shared his opinion.