Russia to position 3 new divisions against NATO

MOSCOW

Russia will position more divisions in response to NATO’s increasing military presence near its border, Russia’s defense minister said Wednesday.

Speaking at a meeting in Moscow, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said: “The Defense Ministry is taking measures to counter NATO’s increasing military presence near Russia’s border.” Shoigu added that three new units will be deployed to western and southern military zones.

According to Russian media, the units will be deployed in the cities of Rostov, Smolensk (bordering Belarus), and Voronezh (near Ukraine), and each unit will have 10,000 soldiers.

The U.S. Defense Department said Monday that it would deploy more troops along Russia’s western border in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.