Russia, under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, will conduct planned exercises of strategic deterrence forces. During the exercises, ballistic and cruise missiles will be launched. The Kremlin said that these maneuvers should not be a cause for concern in other countries. On February 19, the Russian Armed Forces will conduct planned exercises of strategic deterrence forces under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, TASS reports citing the Defense Ministry.

“On February 19, 2022, under the leadership of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, a planned exercise of the strategic deterrence forces will be held, during which ballistic and cruise missiles will be launched,” the ministry said.

The defense ministry said that the exercise of the strategic deterrence forces is being carried out to test the reliability of the weapons of strategic nuclear and non-nuclear forces, as well as the readiness of military command and control agencies, launch combat crews, crews of warships and strategic missile carriers to perform assigned tasks.

The exercises will be attended by the forces and means of the Southern Military District, the Strategic Missile Forces, the Aerospace Forces, the Northern and Black Sea Fleets.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the maneuvers would not cause concern among other countries. He pointed out that the exercises were repeatedly announced.

“The exercises and training launches of ballistic missiles are a fairly regular training process. It is preceded by a whole series of notifications to various countries through various channels, all this is clearly regulated, and this does not raise any questions or concerns for anyone,” Peskov stressed.

The journalists asked the president's press secretary if it was necessary to move the timing of the exercises due to the tense situation in the world.

“The fact is that a number of exercises are underway now, and these are actions that are absolutely transparent and understandable for specialists from other countries,” Peskov replied. He specified that Putin would be in the center of the situation.

“Such launches are impossible without the head of state. You know about the famous “black suitcase”, “red button” and the like,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

In January-February, a series of naval exercises are held in all areas of responsibility of the fleets of the Russian Federation. More than 140 warships and support vessels, more than 60 aircraft, 1,000 units of military equipment, and about 10,000 military personnel are participating in the maneuvers under the leadership of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov.

On February 12, it became known that more than 30 ships were taking part in the exercises of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. On February 18, as part of the exercises, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the guards missile cruiser Moskva, performed artillery firing to repel an attack by air attack weapons of a mock enemy in the Black Sea.

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Exercises "Allied Resolve 2022"

Russia is also participating in the joint Russian-Belarusian exercise "Allied Resolve 2022", which takes place at training grounds in Belarus from February 10 to 20 as part of the second stage of testing the response forces of the Union State .

“The exercises are conducted to work out the tasks of suppressing and repelling external aggression in the course of a defensive operation, as well as countering terrorism and protecting the interests of the Union State,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

According to the agency, during the exercises, measures will be taken to strengthen the protection of the state border to prevent the penetration of armed groups of militants, block the channels for the delivery of weapons and ammunition, as well as search, block, destroy illegal armed formations and sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the enemy.

The exercises are held at the Domanovsky, Gozhsky, Obuz-Lesnovsky, Brest and Osipovichsky training grounds, and also involve the airfields of Baranovichi, Luninets, Lida and Machulishchi.

The Ministry of Defense of Belarus noted that the test of the reaction forces of the Union State is being carried out "against the background of the aggravation of the military-political situation in the world, the continuing growth of tension in Europe."

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, at a meeting with Putin on February 14, said that part of the exercises of the Russian Armed Forces was already being completed, and the military was beginning to return to their permanent deployment points.

On February 15, units of the Southern Military District and the Western Military District began loading onto vehicles, TASS reports citing Major General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry. It is noted that individual units will march on their own as part of military columns.

Konashenkov said on February 17 that the first units that were involved in the exercises near Ukraine had arrived at military garrisons.

At the same time, live firing will take place at the Obuz-Lesnovsky training ground on February 19. During the exercises, the marine brigade, together with formations and military units of the Armed Forces of Belarus, will work out the tasks of conducting a defensive battle.Back to news »

How the West reacted to the exercises

On February 5, the Financial Times, citing a source in the US Congress, reported that Russia postponed the exercises using nuclear weapons from autumn to the beginning of the year due to the situation around Ukraine. The publication indicated that Russia usually conducts exercises using nuclear forces in the fall. According to the FT source, allegedly Putin decided to postpone the maneuvers to February as a warning to NATO.

The United States considers the holding of military exercises by Moscow and Minsk as actions aimed at escalating the situation around Ukraine.

“I think if you look at the preparations for these military exercises, we perceive this, of course, more as an escalation rather than a de-escalation action,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. “It certainly worries us, but I would not predict what it means in terms of an invasion,” she said.

At the same time, the Pentagon positively assessed Moscow's statements about the imminent completion of part of the exercises, TASS reports.

“I'm glad they're talking about the drills. It's a welcome change that they're being clear about what they're doing in these exercises," said agency spokesman John Kirby.

In the West, they do not rule out that Russian troops may remain in Belarus after the exercises. This was stated by the President of Poland Andrzej Duda, as well as the commander of the Lithuanian army, Lieutenant General Valdemaras Rupshis.

“If logistics, air defense, engineering units remain there, this will significantly change the [military] situation in Belarus,” the commander of the Lithuanian army said.

H4 The Foreign Ministry responded to the concern of the West / h4 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the negotiations with the British Colleague of Great Britain Liz Trass stated that after the end of Russian-Belarusian teachings, the West would raise the noise that he had achieved de euros from the Russian Federation.

“After some time, Western countries will find out that the Russian-Belarusian exercises have ended and Russian troops have returned to Russian territory. And then a big fuss will be raised in order to prove that the West has achieved de-escalation from Russia, ”TASS quotes the minister.

Lavrov called such statements "air trade".

The Foreign Minister also drew attention to the fact that Russian troops always return home to their places of permanent deployment after exercises, while NATO troops, after maneuvers in the Baltic and Black Sea countries, as a rule, remain on the territory of these countries.

“In contrast to the exercises on its territory, which Russia conducts and after which the troops return to the barracks, those troops that are far beyond the territory of the UK, the United States, and Canada are sent to the Baltic countries, to countries that are located on the Black Sea coast. “These troops and weapons, as a rule, never return home,” he said.

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US and NATO exercises in Europe

Meanwhile, Western countries are organizing several military exercises in Europe at once. So, in Latvia from February 18 to March 23, Saber Strike 22 exercises will be held, TASS reports with reference to the country's Ministry of Defense. The command of the US Armed Forces in Europe will manage the course of the maneuvers. They will involve almost 400 US military, about 100 pieces of equipment and 22 Apache helicopters.

And from February 28 to March 11, the international military maneuvers Crystal Arrow 22 will take place there. 2,800 soldiers and militia representatives from Latvia, the United States and ten other countries of the NATO multinational battalion will take part in them.

NATO is also organizing the large-scale exercise Cold Response 2022 in the Norwegian Sea and in Norway. The maneuvers are planned for March-April, about 28 states will take part in them.

In total, about 40 thousand people, a large number of carrier-based and strategic aircraft, as well as two aircraft carriers with escort ships are involved in the exercises.

Four US Air Force B-1B Lancer strategic supersonic bombers, which are located at the Orland military airfield in Norway, will take part in the Cold Response - 2022 exercises. These aircraft are capable of carrying 24 AGM-158 JASSM cruise missiles with a range of up to 360 km and up to 980 km in the JASSM-ER modification.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also confirmed the participation of the alliance in military exercises in Georgia in the spring. “Later this year there will be exercises in Georgia, NATO will take part in them, since we are conducting these exercises together. These exercises demonstrate how closely we cooperate, ”RIA Novosti quotes Stoltenberg.

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