Russia’s military is now stronger than any potential foe, President Vladimir Putin told an annual end-of-year meeting with the Defence Ministry on Thursday.
“We can say with certainty, we are stronger now than any potential aggressor,” he told the meeting. “Anyone!”
His comments come at the end of a year when tensions between Russia and the West have remained strained, largely to do with differing approaches to the civil war in Syria. Tensions between Russia and the West escalated after Russia’s annexation in Crimea in 2014 and its involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. last year, Russia began an air force operation in Syria to support President Bashar Assad that’s irked the US in particular.
Both Russia and NATO members conducted a flurry of military drills near the Russian border this year. Russia has insisted that it’s bolstering its forces at the border to react to a growing NATO threat. Speaking at the Defence Ministry’s headquarters in Moscow Putin said Russia should follow closely any military movement along its border as well as changes “in the military and political situation globally.” He said Russia should be swift in “adjusting plans to neutralise potential threats to our country.”