MINSK. May 25 (Interfax) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has voiced concern about joint "nuclear missions" of NATO member states in Eastern Europe, which are practicing engagement of nuclear weapon delivery vehicles.
"Intensifying aggressive rhetoric, joint 'nuclear missions' of NATO member states in Eastern Europe, which are practicing engagement of nuclear weapon delivery vehicles, and development of components of the U.S. global missile defense network are a source of concern," Shoigu said at a meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Minsk on Thursday.
"The delivery of depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine and attempted provocations and strikes at strategic facilities in the Russian Federation" are of the same vein, he said.
"NATO has been using the Ukraine crisis as an excuse for the enhancement of its groups. Another stage has begun in the alliance's enlargement. Military infrastructure is being upgraded, offensive weapons are being deployed, and the intensity and scale of joint exercises are growing in Eastern and Central Europe," Shoigu said.
The biggest exercise is Defender Europe 2023, which also involves non-NATO countries, he said.