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Pistorius: Russia's actions in the Baltics as in the Cold War

2024-12-06 09:09:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

In the Baltic Sea, according to the German Defense Minister, more and more Russian navy and merchant ships are moving, occasionally provoking with warning shots, to test NATO's response.

Russia, according to the data of the Minister of Defense, Boris Pistorius, has been increasing its presence in the Baltic Sea for some time. The presence of Russian navy ships as well as civilian ships is increasing significantly, the Social Democrat politician told Deutschlandfunk radio. The Chinese navy is also present. This highlights the "strategic importance of the Baltic Sea" mainly to Russia and China in terms of avoiding sanctions, Pistorius says.

Russia is showing an increasingly provocative stance, as we know from the Cold War period: "We have repeatedly had incidents in the Baltic Sea, resulting in warning shots in the air, and warning shots at sea." The minister compared these actions to incidents, during which Russian warplanes without symbols take off in the air over the Baltic to test how NATO can react.

Appreciation for the careful attitude of the German navy

Pistorius did not answer a question about an incident that became known on Wednesday (05.12.2024) between a German Army helicopter and a Russian ship. As the media reported, the crew of the Russian ship fired signal ammunition in the direction of the helicopter. But this one was not touched. The use of this ammunition is common only in emergencies. The Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, drew attention to the fact that in the Baltic Sea there are constantly moving ships that aim to avoid the sanctions imposed due to Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine.

Asked if there is a risk of escalation, Defense Minister Pistorius said that the German navy and allied naval units maintain a very cautious attitude: "They record incidents, report them, react with de-escalation measures and do not react to provocative attitudes - because we don't need exactly such reactions." Every year up to 1500 new Russian tanks

Pistorius also drew attention in the Bundestag to an increase in the military threat from the leadership in Moscow: "Russia is completely focused on the war economy and is supplying the army every year with 1,000 to 1,500 tanks. This reserve is twice the arsenal of five major European countries together." Russia remains "the biggest threat to our security, and for the foreseeable period it will remain so," the Defense Minister further stated.

The government made up of social democrats and ecologists submitted three draft laws to the parliament. Among them, an article of the law, which should pave the way for higher payments in the long-term deployment of a brigade in Lithuania. Another law provides for penalizing the activity of ex-soldiers for a so-called foreign power such as Russia and China, if there is no permit for such service. "Until now there has been no such law, but now this is urgently needed," Pistorius said. This prevents the possible recruitment for the purpose of "former members of the Bundeswehr with high specialization./ DW