The number of flights of military aircraft of Western countries to the Russian land and sea borders has doubled since last year - more than 400 cases have already been registered in 2019. This was told by the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral Alexander Nosatov. In addition, the number of approaches to Western borders of Western reconnaissance aircraft of various classes has significantly increased - from 578 last year to more than 800 this year.

“On other days, naval fighter aircraft have to fly several times to intercept potential violators of the air borders,” Nosatov said in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

  • Ships of the Baltic Fleet
  • RIA News
  • © Igor Zarembo

At the same time, reconnaissance activity is not limited to airspace - the admiral said that reconnaissance vessels of Western countries are constantly present near the training areas of the Baltic Fleet.

In addition, in 2019, the North Atlantic Alliance held three large-scale exercises in the Baltic Sea: Baltops 2019, Baltic Protector 2019 and Northern Coasts 2019, as well as several large land maneuvers in the Baltic and Poland near the Russian borders. In total, the number of different military maneuvers near the borders of Russia this year reached 300, the admiral added.

“Any actions of a similar nature on the part of Western colleagues do not go unnoticed and the reaction of the forces of the Baltic Fleet. Our objective control means track the military activities of NATO countries at all its stages, ”the Baltic Fleet Commander emphasized.

Strategically Important Region

NATO's military activity at the Russian borders began to increase markedly in 2014, the pretext for this was the crisis in Ukraine. Western governments hastened to accuse Russia of "aggression" against the Ukrainian side, as well as to ascribe to Moscow allegedly plans to "attack" the countries of Eastern Europe and the Baltic states.

According to Barack Obama, who headed the White House at the time, “Russian aggression flagrantly violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent European state - Ukraine,” which caused alarm among US allies in Eastern Europe.

  • NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
  • Reuters
  • © Yves Herman

The decision to expand NATO's military presence in Eastern Europe was made by the countries participating in the alliance at the summit in 2016. In particular, as part of this strategy, it was decided to deploy four multinational battalions in the republics of the Baltic states and Poland.

At the same time, attempts continue to drag Finland and Sweden into the North Atlantic Alliance. Proponents of this idea also argue their position by the need to defend themselves against possible “Russian aggression”.

However, the NATO leadership still had to admit that Russia does not pose any immediate threat to its neighbors, the Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this in late November, answering journalists' questions. However, he still mentioned the "aggressive actions" of Russia against Georgia and Ukraine.

“We really do not observe aggression against NATO members. But that is precisely why it is so important for NATO to continue to provide real deterrence and protection, especially given the growing unpredictability of the world situation. That is precisely why the last few years we have been modernizing our forces, increasing investments in defense and increasing combat readiness, ”Stoltenberg emphasized.

According to experts, from the very beginning, talks about the threat of “Russian aggression” were only an excuse to mask the real intentions of NATO.

“If it were in Ukraine, then it would be more logical for the alliance to develop its potential in the Black Sea region. But the vector of NATO military efforts has shifted to the Baltic region. The fact is that initially Ukraine was only an informational occasion, the alliance only declared their concern for it. In fact, the interests of the North Atlantic bloc are confined to the Baltic region, a region strategically important for the alliance, ”said Sergey Ermakov, an expert at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, in an interview with RT.

According to the analyst, the Baltic countries play an important role on this flank, in which Washington is fanning anti-Russian fears and hysteria. This helps the alliance draw resources in this direction.

  • US and Polish military training in Poland.
  • RIA News
  • © Cezary Aszkielowicz / Agencja Gazeta

A similar point of view is shared by the doctor of military sciences, the captain of the 1st rank, retired Konstantin Sivkov.

“Events in Ukraine are just an excuse. In fact, today there are much more contradictions and problems between countries that can provoke a greater war than it was on the eve of World War II. And a new world war does not begin only because Russia has nuclear weapons that are holding NATO back, ”the expert explained in a commentary to RT.

In recent years, the NATO air forces have carried out not only reconnaissance flights, but also provocations - this is how experts described NATO fighter attempts to get closer to the board of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in the Baltic region. This incident occurred in March 2016, when Eurofighter Typhoon's NATO Air Force fighters followed a ministerial plane bound for Kaliningrad.

"Presented as success"

The change of the US administration after the victory in the US election of Donald Trump did not lead to a decrease in NATO's military presence at Russian borders, despite the election promises of the American politician to "get along" with Russia.

In 2017, the NATO F-16 fighter also tried to escort the liner of the head of the Russian Ministry of Defense at an unacceptable distance over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, but was pushed back by the Russian Su-27.

As Sergei Shoigu said then, speaking at a meeting of the board of the Ministry of Defense, the situation at the western borders of the country tends to worsen due to NATO military activity.

“The North Atlantic Alliance is expanding its presence in the Baltic countries. The infrastructure of their seaports, airfields and other military facilities is being improved, ”the minister emphasized.

In 2018, about 3 thousand aircraft of the Air Forces of foreign countries were discovered near the Russian borders, one thousand of which are radio reconnaissance aircraft. These statistics were presented at the end of last year by the Chief of the Radio Engineering Forces of the Russian Air Force, Major General Andrei Koban.

In 2019, the Pentagon began to actively deploy strategic B-52H Stratofortress bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons on board in Europe. In October, the United States deployed a group of such aircraft to the British Fairford air base.

  • Strategic Bomber B-52H Stratofortress
  • globallookpress.com
  • © US Air Force

However, back in March, the American strategic bomber B-52H with tail number 60-0024 took into sight the Baltic Fleet base in the Kaliningrad Region.

According to Sergei Ermakov, today Washington is doing everything to pursue a policy of force-based intimidation of its geopolitical opponents, and Russia sees it as one of its main opponents. Therefore, the alliance does not accidentally increase the flights of combat and reconnaissance aircraft to the Russian borders.

“The NATO military wants to know how the restructuring and development of the Russian Armed Forces is going on, they want to test our capabilities. In addition, such frequent departures by aircraft of various NATO countries are a demonstration of their unity and capabilities of the alliance. After all, these sorties in the NATO reports are presented as success achieved by the military bloc, ”the expert summed up.