Contents tagged with NATO

  • NATO fighter jets scrambled twice last week to escort Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea

    Last week, NATO fighter jets performing patrol missions over the Baltic States scrambled twice to escort Russian military aircraft, according to the website of the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense. “From the 14-20th of November, NATO fighter jets patrolling the Baltic airspace scrambled twice to intercept Russian military aircraft,” the statement read.

    On the 14th of November, NATO fighter jets escorted a Russian IL-76 through the international airspace over the Baltic Sea. The aircraft …

  • Putin: Russia will respond to NATO's expansion

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the practice of decision-making in NATO is a cause for concern. Based on this, Russia will take countermeasures in response to the expansion of NATO.

    RIA Novosti reported that Putin said this in an interview for the Oliver Stone film ‘Ukraine on fire’, which premiered on the 21st of November on REN TV.

    “Why are we reacting so sharply to NATO’s expansion? We are concerned about the practice of decision-making. I know how decisions are made. When a …

  • Russia declares that Iskander missiles will be permanently stationed in Kaliningrad

    Russia will deploy Iskander missile systems as well as S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft systems in Kaliningrad district, according to the chairman of the Federation Council Defence and Security Committee, Victor Ozerov, as reported by Russia’s RIA news agency.

    According to Ozerov, Russia is strengthening its air defense capability on its western border in response to deployment of the American anti-aircraft system in Europe.

    “We have to strengthen our system of air defense in this direction, bring …

  • Iron Sword 2016 international exercises begin in Lithuania

    As reported by the Lithuanian Defense Ministry, about 4,000 servicemen from 11 NATO-member countries will gather for the third annual Iron Sword military exercises. The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense reports that during the exercises servicemen will plan and carry out defensive and offensive operations and perform other tasks.

    It is reported that the exercises will be carried out between November 20 and December 2 at two Lithuanian landfills.

    Servicemen from Estonia, United States, Great …

  • France to send soldiers and tanks to Estonia

    Next year France will send 300 servicemen, 5 Leclerc tanks and 13 infantry combat vehicles to Estonia, as stated on Saturday by the Minister of Defense of France, Jean Yves Le Drianto, and the Minister of Defense of Estonia, Hannes Hanso, at a meeting of the security forum in Halifax, Canada, as reported by Estonian public broadcaster, ERR.

    "A trusted, allied relationship will be developed between the countries," the French Minister said.

    "Estonian and French soldiers have been united in …

  • Verkovna Rada Chairman: Every dollar invested in Ukraine saves thousands

    Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Andriy Parubiy noted that the Ukrainian soldiers who are restraining Russia’s aggression protect not only Ukraine but the entire free world.

    He stated this on Saturday during a visit to Turkey at a meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the press service of the parliament reported.

    According Parubiy, “Every dollar invested in the development of Ukraine is saving thousands which are necessary to deter the Russian Federation on the eastern borders of the …

  • Linkevicius: Putin may test NATO before the start of Trump’s presidency

    Lithuania has not ruled out the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin may test NATO for several weeks before Donald Trump officially becomes the president of the United States.

    This was stated by the minister of foreign affairs of Lithuania, Linas Linkevičius, in an interview with BBC.

    Linkevičius said that there is a danger that Putin considers the period between now and the start of Trump’s presidency in January as an opportunity to test the combat readiness and diplomatic …

  • NATO General Secretary is not concerned over possible cooperation between Russia and the US

    On the 15th of November, the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, stated that Russia’s annexation of the Crimea is still one of the main stumbling blocks in their relations with Moscow.

    “We will never accept any violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine,” he said.

    When asked for his thoughts on a telephone conversation between newly elected US president, Donald Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin held on the 14th of November, Stoltenberg responded that …

  • NATO worried that Trump will withdraw US troops from Europe

    NATO fears that Donald Trump, as president of the United States, will reduce the presence of US troops in Europe, Spiegel reports.

    According to the newspaper, this is one of the scenarios described in the report from the headquarters of the secretary general of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, who has “enormous” concerns about the election of the American billionaire.

    “Nowhere is concern over the election of Trump as US President greater than in NATO. Now the alliance, as became known to …

  • NATO exercises begin in Georgia

    NATO exercises began on the Vaziani base near Tbilisi in Georgia on Thursday. This was reported by the Rustavi 2 TV channel.

    These large-scale exercises will last for 10 days and will be attended by soldiers from 11 NATO countries and two partner states.

    A total of 250 soldiers will participate in the exercises. Their main goal is to practice interactions between NATO forces and Georgia in response to crisis situations.

    These exercises are a part of a package of measures adopted by the …