NATO diverts Russian warplanes from Baltic region

Insight

Russia has set its sights on the Baltic region. NATO recently scrambled jets to intercept Russian warplanes flying over the Baltic Sea. It’s the latest incident in a recent rise of Russian military activity in the region. CCTV’s Tom Barton reports from Moscow.

Highlights:

  • A U.S. general warned earlier this month that Russian bombers have flown more “out of area” patrols than in any year since the cold war. These areas  include the Gulf of Mexico, close to the U.K. coast and across the Baltic region.
  • Relations between Russia and the West are at their worst since the end of the cold war.
  • NATO has formed what it calls a “rapid-reaction force” to counter potential aggression towards eastern European alliance states.
  • In the past month, Russian combat readiness exercises were expanded to all military regions from the arctic to the far east. Russian President Vladimir Putin said recent military drills are just the beginning of a series of exercises that will take place in the coming months.

Jorge Benitez of NATOSource discusses US-Russia tensions

CCTV America interviewed Jorge Benitez for more insight into growing tensions between the U.S. and Russia. Benitez is the Director of NATOSource, an information service providing news about NATO.