MOSCOW – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has criticized a comment by the U.S. defense secretary about Russia’s military resurgence.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel issued a warning to the American armed forces on Wednesday about the need to “deal with a revisionist Russia” and its army “on NATO’s doorstep.”
Shoigu on Thursday expressed concern about Hagel’s comment, saying it could “mean that the Pentagon is working on scenarios for an operation near our country’s border.”
Concerns about Russia’s military might surfaced in March when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine, and were reinforced this summer when Ukraine and NATO said Russian troops were helping pro-Russian separatists fight government forces in eastern Ukraine.
