What statements did Vladimir Putin make at the Defense Ministry board meeting?

Russia is forced to take additional measures to ensure its own security and that of its allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an expanded meeting of the Defense Ministry's board.

According to him, Moscow is doing this carefully and in a balanced way, not getting involved in a large-scale arms race to the detriment of socio-economic development.

The Russian President noted that the country's armed forces must improve the methods of conducting military operations, increase the level of mastery of equipment and the effectiveness of commanding troops.

NATO is moving closer to Russia's borders

Putin noted that NATO countries are increasing military spending and forming strike groups of troops near Russia's borders.

"NATO countries themselves are increasing their military spending. Strike groups of alliance troops are being formed and assembled near the Russian borders. The number of American troops in Europe has already exceeded 100,000," the Russian leader said.

He emphasized that NATO's aspirations have long gone beyond the boundaries of its historical area of ​​responsibility.

"In addition to the so-called Eastern Wing, the alliance is increasing its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. At the behest of the United States, new military-political alliances are being formed, which are undermining the security architecture created over decades," the Russian leader added.

They reach the red line.

Putin noted that the United States is scaring its population with myths that Russia is planning to attack someone.

"The tactic is very simple: they bring us to the red line from which we can no longer retreat. We begin to respond, and immediately they frighten the entire population," Putin said.

At the same time, Washington is engaged in the creation and deployment of high-precision strike weapons with a range of up to 5,500 km on the front lines. The transfer and deployment of these missile systems in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region are already being developed.

"We will respond to such threats in a comprehensive manner. At the same time, the most important task is to detect and intercept the launch of such missiles in a timely manner. We also need to resolve all issues of serial production and deployment of domestic strike systems, including hypersonic systems," he added.

What will Russia's response be?

Moscow could also lift voluntary restrictions on the deployment of medium- and short-range missiles if the US begins deploying such systems.

According to the President, Russia has repeatedly said that the termination of this treaty will have negative consequences for all global security, but emphasized that it will not deploy medium- and short-range missiles until such time as American weapons of this type appear in any region of the world.

And again about " Oreshnik"

Russia's newest powerful weapon is the Oreshnik medium-range missile system. Putin recalled that in response to the attacks on Russian territory using Western weapons in November, the Oreshnik was successfully deployed, a hypersonic ballistic missile without a nuclear component.

"In the near future, serial production of such complexes must be ensured to protect the security of Russia and our allies, and this will certainly be done," Putin assured.

Recall, Putin announced on November 21 that successful tests of the medium-range Oreshnik missile had been completed. As part of the operations, Russian troops hit a large industrial facility in Dnepropetrovsk, which is related to the production of missile equipment.