NATO Chief Calls Russian Naval Exercises ‘A Dangerous Moment for European Security'

This handout picture released on February 8, 2022, by the press service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, shows tanks of the Ukrainian Military forces taking part in a drill in the Dnipropetrovsk region, in preparation for a possible military attack by Russia. © Handout photo

Russia and Belarus launched joint military drills on Thursday, scheduled to continue until February 20. The exercises have raised concerns in Western countries, with fears that Moscow is plotting a major escalation in the conflict in Ukraine.

Russia hit back at the UK’s warnings on Russian activity, saying that Russian forces were operating on their own territory, unlike UK forces in the Baltic.