Putin stages huge military drillsi n game of ‘brinkmanship’ with West

MOSCOW: Mammoth Russian military drills ordered by President Vladimir Putin from the Pacific to the Black Sea are designed to send a message to the West: keep your distance and don’t overplay your hand on Ukraine, observers say.
Since the start of the Ukraine crisis more than a year ago, Russia has flexed its muscles with a series of war games but the scale of the latest military exercises — including sending nuclear bombers to Crimea and ballistic missiles to Kaliningrad in central Europe — has triggered a series of new questions.
Experts say whatever the purpose of the latest manoeuvres involving tens of thousands of troops, the intent is clear: to show Putin’s Russia will stop at nothing to protect its interests.
Military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said Russia was pursuing a two-pronged strategy: using “nuclear blackmail” to try to press the West into making concessions amid sanctions over Ukraine while making sure its forces are ready for any full-scale military confrontation.
“This is brinkmanship, balancing on the brink of war,” he told AFP, adding that in the current atmosphere of shattered ties with the West the Kremlin is not ruling out any scenarios.
“These are preparations for a possible nuclear conflict, for a big war with Europe and for a global nuclear war with America.”
In a bombastic statement many saw as emblematic of the Kremlin’s willingness to go all out, Putin said he was ready to put Russia’s nuclear forces on alert during the annexation of Crimea a year ago.
But others dismissed it as little more than posturing.
“Putin is talking about nuclear weapons but no one is afraid of us,” wrote Yulia Latynina, a columnist for Novaya Gazeta newspaper.
She called the “grandiose bluff” a warning to the West not to escalate the Ukraine crisis.
The tactics have worked to a degree. Washington is sending troops on a training mission to Ukraine next month but is holding off on supplying Kiev with lethal weaponry.
Russia’s seizure of Crimea, support for Ukranian separatists and drills across Russia have caused unease in Eastern Europe and galvanised Nato, which is boosting defences on Europe’s eastern flank.
This month European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker went so far as to call for the creation of an EU army. Russia insists the only purpose of its drills is to keep its armed forces battle ready.