Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday March 11 asked his Minister of Defense to offer him military redeployments on the western border of Russia, in response to those of NATO in Eastern Europe.
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Regarding the strengthening of our western borders because of the actions adopted by the NATO countries (...) this needs to be studied, I ask you to prepare a report for me
", he said to his Minister Sergei Shoigu, during a televised meeting of his Security Council.
NATO countries deployed thousands of troops to Central and Eastern Europe in response to Russian military intervention in Ukraine to bolster their eastern flank, as Russia instead demanded a withdrawal from the Alliance .
Read alsoHas NATO promised Russia not to expand to the East?
Among the NATO countries, Poland and the three Baltic countries have common borders with Russia.
Ukraine, for its part, borders several others: Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
One of the Russian justifications for the offensive in Ukraine is the fear of seeing its neighbor join the Alliance, whose successive enlargements are seen in Moscow as an existential threat.
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