US troops in Poland 'a threat to Russia's security'

The arrival of thousands of US soldiers in Poland as part of a NATO build-up is a threat to Russia's national security, the Kremlin has said.

Su-24 crews hold bombing exercise in Kaliningrad region

Bombing and providing air cover for a ground grouping of troops were practiced by pilots from the Baltic Fleet (BF) bombing aviation crews, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"As part of routine drills the crews of Sukhoi Su-24 frontline bombers of the Fleet's aviation group carried out precision bombing strikes and destroyed the manpower and military hardware of an adversary at an aviation site in the Kaliningrad region," the BF said in a press release obtained by Interfax-AVN on Thursday.

The crews carried out precision bombing against full-size targets simulating engineering structures, manpower and hardware of an adversary.

Russia has to react as NATO moves closer to its borders - Medvedev

Iskander high-precision missile system (RIA Novosti / Alexei Danichev)

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Russia cannot see NATO expansion towards its borders as positive, as under certain circumstances the possibility of military confrontation remains, the Russian PM has said at the Euro-Arctic Council’s forum.
When a reporter asked Dmitry Medvedev how the balance of forces in Europe will change if Sweden and Finland decide to enter NATO, the Russian Prime Minister answered that his country would have to react to such developments.
“This is their own business; they are making decisions in accordance with the national sovereignty doctrine. But we have to consider the fact that for us the NATO bloc is not simply some estranged organisation, but a structure with military potential,” the head of the Russian government said adding that under certain unfavorable scenarios this potential could be used against Russia.