ArmInfo. The military exercises taking place in southern Russia are nothing more than Moscow's reaction to the recent NATO exercises in Georgia. A similar opinion was expressed to ArmInfo by Alexander Krylov, Senior Researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
On August 26 in Rostov, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions, in the Stavropol, Krasnodar Territories and the Crimea large-scale command and staff exercises were launched with the participation of 8.2 thousand troops.On August 12, another military training was held in the Southern Military District with the participation of more than 6.5 thousand troops.
"In my opinion, the main reason for the exercises in the Southern Federal District is the actions of NATO troops in Georgia. The constant combat readiness of the Armed Forces and, as a result, a high degree of preparedness for a possible military confrontation is necessary not only for Russia, but also for other participants in world politics. We have to face this reality and in this light, the exercises in the south of Russia look quite natural, "he stressed.
Regular multinational NATO exercises Agile Spirit 2019 took place in Georgia from August 6 to 9 under the motto "Strength in Partnership". More than 3,000 troops from the Alliance countries took part in the exercises: USA, UK, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Norway, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Turkey. As well as partner countries: Georgia and Ukraine.
According to the expert's estimates, military exercises in the south of Russia may also be connected with tension on the Russian-Ukrainian border. At the same time, according to his forecasts, even the growing tension does not pose threat of turning into a full-scale war. First of all, due to the fact that Russia is not going to fight with Ukraine. In this light, in his opinion, by military activity in the Southern Federal District Moscow rather seeks to prevent the development of the ongoing tension into military operations.