The Pentagon believes that "many Russian troops" are still located near the borders of Ukraine.

This was stated by the official representative of the military department John Kirby.

“Substantial - or even large - forces are still concentrated on the border with Ukraine and in the occupied Crimea.

There is still no full understanding of their intentions.

This is a great question for Moscow, ”he said.

Answering a journalist's question about the difference between NATO's Defender Europe 2021 exercises near the Russian border and Russian maneuvers on its own territory, Kirby actually questioned Moscow's official training goals.

“I'm not going to talk about what Russia calls exercises.

I have repeatedly stated that they must answer questions about what they are doing, ”said a Pentagon spokesman.

According to him, NATO exercises differ from Russian ones in their "transparency".

“Moscow does not have such a thing and has never had it.

This is the big difference.

This is a defensive exercise and you will hear us talk about it and tell you and the world what we are doing and why, ”Kirby said.

  • John Kirby

  • AFP

  • © Mandel Ngan

April maneuvers

Recall that in April, the Russian Armed Forces conducted large-scale exercises, which caused concern among Western countries, since in time these planned maneuvers coincided with the aggravation of the situation in Donbass.

For example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to abandon the build-up of troops near the border with Ukraine, and Washington asked Moscow to explain the "provocations" near the Ukrainian border.

At the same time, the EU and the United States ignored Kiev's actions, in particular the active transfer of Ukrainian troops and equipment to the contact line, which provoked another crisis in Donbass.

Meanwhile, the Russian Federation timely informed about the conduct of exercises on its territory.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, a total of 4,048 exercises were planned to be held in April, including 812 bilateral ones, at 520 training facilities and 101 training grounds.

The department reported that the maneuvers took place in all military districts, in the Northern Fleet and in the regions of the Kuril Islands, the Far North and Kamchatka.

All types and types of troops are subject to checks.

At the same time, the Russian leadership noted that the movement of troops on its own territory is an internal affair of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, stressed then that Moscow does not threaten anyone.

After a cycle of exercises on April 22, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the completion of the maneuvers in the Southern and Western military districts and gave the order to return the personnel to their locations.

“I believe that the objectives of the surprise check have been fully achieved.

The troops have demonstrated their ability to provide a reliable defense of the country, ”Shoigu said.

  • Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu

  • RIA News

  • © Vadim Savitsky

According to him, the Russian Armed Forces "respond adequately to all changes in the situation near the Russian borders."

It is worth noting that the Russian exercises took place against the backdrop of large-scale NATO Defender Europe 2021 maneuvers that were held close to the Russian borders.

They started back in March and will continue until June.

More than 28 thousand military personnel from 26 countries, including the United States, take part in them.

Defender Europe 2021 is the conduct of operations in more than 30 training zones located in 12 countries.

At the same time, Defender Europe 2021 is organizationally associated with a number of smaller-scale NATO maneuvers.

These include Swift Response, Immediate Response, Saber Guardian, Command Post Exercise, African Lion, and Steadfast Defender.

All of them will also take place in May - June.

Sergei Shoigu drew attention to the increased activity of NATO near the southern borders of Russia.

He specified that the intelligence activities of the North Atlantic Alliance are intensifying in the region, the intensity and scale of operational training activities are increasing.

"We are closely monitoring the transfer of alliance troops to the area of ​​the upcoming Defender Europe 2021 exercise. Coordination centers have been established in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria to ensure the meeting of NATO troops and cargo," Shoigu said on April 22.

The minister stressed that Russia will continue to monitor the situation in the areas of the Defender Europe exercises, and also instructed the troops to be ready for an immediate response "in the event of its unfavorable development."

Later, at a meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CSTO member states in Dushanbe, Shoigu noted that the actions of the United States and NATO in the European region contribute to the growth of tensions in Europe.

“The military infrastructure is being modernized, the intensity of operational and combat training is growing, and the American“ Four to Thirty ”concept is being implemented.

Nationalist sentiments are heating up in Ukraine, which provokes an armed conflict in the Donbass, including in the regions bordering on Russia, ”the head of the Ministry of Defense said.

The Four Thirty Program, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, envisages the creation of 30 mechanized battalions, 30 air squadrons in NATO by 2022 and the presence of 30 warships ready for use within 30 days.

At the same time, this program will become an addition to the so-called lead detachment - the rapid reaction forces and the NATO high-readiness joint operational group, which number more than 30 thousand people.

This group must be able to urgently deploy and conduct hostilities within 48 hours of receiving the order.

Sergei Shoigu noted that in response to such military activity of NATO, Russia took appropriate measures.

“As you know, a sudden check of the combat readiness of the troops of the Western and Southern military districts was carried out.

Two armies and three airborne units have been successfully deployed to the western borders, to the areas where training and combat missions are being carried out, ”the minister recalled.

The head of the Russian Ministry of Defense added that the Russian Federation is moving troops within its territory according to its own plans.

“Recently, only the lazy has not joined the chorus of accusations against Russia for any reason.

Either I don't like the conduct of exercises on our territory, or the return of troops to their permanent deployment points is annoying.

And someone decided to warn us about the consequences of our activity on our own territory, - said the Minister of Defense.

"I want to emphasize: we do not accept such warnings and intend to continue to do everything necessary to ensure the security of our borders."

"Form a negative information agenda"

Experts note that Russia, like any other country, has every right to determine when, where and in what volume it needs to conduct exercises on its territory.

“When the United States on the border with Mexico, Canada or NATO countries conduct exercises, Russia, within the framework of international law, recognizes the right of these sovereign states to such events.

In turn, exercises on the territory of the Russian Federation and within it are also the sovereign right of the state, "said Alexander Domrin, professor at the Higher School of Economics, in an interview with RT.

  • NATO exercise in March 2021

  • Reuters

  • © Ints Kalnins

According to him, the United States is deliberately trying to create a negative background around the teachings of the Russian Federation in the media space of Western countries.

“The United States is trying to influence public opinion in its country and in the NATO countries with such messages.

This is a kind of parasitism on this topic so that Western countries can continue to finance and service the armed forces and contingents outside their territory.

To do this, they need an external threat in the form of Russia, ”the expert said.

A similar point of view is shared by Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“In fact, any state has the sovereign right to move troops on its territory.

But the United States is forming a negative information agenda against Russia in order to legitimize its actions and the actions of its allies in the eyes of the international community in case Ukraine starts military action against Donbass.

Naturally, in this case, Kiev will refer to Moscow's allegedly aggressive actions that threaten peaceful Ukrainians, "the expert said in an interview with RT.

Blokhin also noted that the United States itself creates conditions under which the level of mutual trust and transparency in military matters between the West and Russia is decreasing.

As an example, he cited Washington's withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty.

According to Alexander Domrin, NATO's military activity provokes the Russian Federation to retaliate, since Russia must ensure its security.

“NATO exercises near the borders of the Russian Federation and US actions in the Black Sea and other similar regions are provoking Russia to take tough measures. At the same time, Moscow is now least of all interested in escalating tensions, ”the analyst says.