Are All These NATO Exercises Actually Military Deployments Against Russia?

In a diversion, mainstream media has successfully placed the nation’s focus on events taking place in the Middle East, while speaking very little of the tensions currently boiling over in Eastern Europe. On occasion, you may hear of a NATO military exercise taking place and while the claim is that drills such as these are routine, a detailed look at the placement and numbers show that it is anything but that.

Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, which took place early last year, the West has invoked a set of crippling sanctions designed to cause damage to the Russian economy, in an attempt to force Putin to reconsider his actions in Eastern Ukraine. Though these sanctions, in combination with lower gas prices, did deal a crippling blow to the Russian economy, the Kremlin has shown little intent on standing down from its imperialistic agenda.

Concurrently, most of which has taken place more recently, are a series of NATO exercises unfolding in the region. Some of these exercises are said to be intended to demonstrate a show of force against the Russian Federation, while others are referred to as being merely “routine”. The latest drill taking place in Ukraine, which is the largest in history ever to be hosted there, is also said not to be related to the current political crisis between Russia and the West, but most of us can read between the lines and see this for what it is.

However, when one stands back and takes a closer look at the overall picture, these exercises are appearing to look more and more like a strategic military buildup on Russia’s border. It’s possible that these drills are not only designed to test NATO’s response time, but they could also be acting as a secretive means of moving our forces into well-placed strategic positions, and these are just the ones we know about.

Russia of course, is also guilty of carrying out such mobilizations. Last year, tens of thousands of Russian soldiers were massed along the border with Ukraine. At the time, the West considered this a preempt to invasion, but like NATO, Russia referred to this buildup as just an exercise.

The West is clearly deep into this game now, mobilizing thousands of troops under the same guise that Russia took advantage of last year. The map below displays the location of where some of these drills have been taking place, but it does not include all of them, such as the ones in the Nordic States, Moldova or the latest military operation being conducted in Ukraine.

Considering this, it’s no wonder that the Kremlin shouldn’t feel threatened by such a show of force, even if it was brought on by Russia’s own actions. In fact, in North West Poland, NATO is
conducting land and maritime exercises within just miles of a military outpost in Kaliningrad, which is an enclave of Russian territory.

As we can see, the forces that continue to build up as this article is being written, are clearly massing along the Russian border. Whether it be for the purpose of discouraging aggression from Russia, or other reasons, NATO is placing troops, heavy weapons and aircraft in position, in event that a war should break out between the two. As tensions continue to rise, so will this new European military buildup of raw power.

In a situation such as this, even the slightest miscalculation regarding the other side’s intentions, could result in extremely dangerous consquences.