Head of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov: International security deteriorates as West wants to keep dominating

Head of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
Photo: Russian Defence Ministry

Russian General Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov said during a briefing for foreign military attaches, the military-political situation in the world is characterized by a growing number of armed conflicts in various parts of the world and the key reason is the western desire to keep dominating.

The negative changes called to update the Russian nuclear deterrence policy, he told foreign military attaches.

TASS gathered key statements of Gerasimov.

International situation

The military-political situation in the world in characterized by a growing number of armed conflicts in various regions. "It promoted further degradation of regional and international security," he said.

The main reason is the desire of US-led West "to keep its global dominance based on the rules, which have no legal basis from the point of view of international law."

Tensions in Europe are rising as NATO military infrastructure comes close to Russian borders.

Conflicts are provoked under the US aegis in the Middle East, Europe and Africa. "At the same time the understanding of the necessity to counter the western policy is growing in the world."

"The involvement of the collective West in the standoff with Russia in the Ukrainian direction triggers global risks."

The United States has actually become an immediate participant in the conflict in Ukraine after strikes of long-range systems against the Russian territory, Valery Gerasimov said.

"The next turn in escalation of the conflict in Ukraine was sanctioned by the US and their NATO allies use of their long-range weapon systems against the territory in the depth of the Russian Federation. The US essentially allowed itself to use these systems against the Russian territory," Gerasimov said at the briefing for foreign military attaches.

"The Ukrainian Armed Forces are unable to enter space intelligence data on their own and provide for preparation of flight tasks for missiles. The US after strikes against the Russian territory actually became the immediate participant in the conflict, meaning its escalation," he added.

Ukraine operation

The Russian forces keep the initiative and advance in the whole front despite colossal aid to Kiev from the West.

Over 190 residential settlements were liberated this year and close to 4.5 thousand square kilometers of territory came under Russian control.

Since the beginning of the operation the Ukrainian army has lost close to one million soldiers killed and wounded, as well as close to 20 thousand tanks and armored vehicles.

The Ukrainian incursion into Kursk region aimed at making Russia redeploy reserves from Donbass, but it did not happen.

The Russian armed forces have accumulated major combat experience in the engagement of various arms of forces. The aims of the operation will be definitely achieved.

Western aid

Western financial assistance to Ukraine totaled over 350 billion dollars and 170 billion of them were disbursed for military needs.

Over 30 western countries supplied military products to Ukraine. "The United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Denmark contributed the most."

Thousands of arms and hardware units have been transferred to Ukraine by western countries since the beginning of the operation.

Nuclear deterrence

Negative changes in the military-political situation made it necessary to update the Russian nuclear deterrence policy.

Russian international commitments do not determine the threshold of nuclear deterrence. It is "determined by the necessity to curtail the aggressor and neutralize the threats from the potential adversary."

The ground-based strategic nuclear forces have fully completed the rearmament with modern mobile missile launchers.

The share of modern arms in the Russian strategic nuclear forces comprises 95%.

Oreshnik missile

Russia will react to US escalation proceeding from security threats. Oreshnik missile has been test fired as a retaliation.

Arms control

The United States wants to create new devastating weapons and therefore abandoned international commitments and arms control agreements.

Many countries are thinking how to adequately react to Washington’s withdrawal from arms control agreements. "The understanding of the danger of such steps is growing in the world."

Many countries have started contemplating how to adequately respond to the US’ withdrawal from arms control agreements, Valery Gerasimov said.

He pointed out that, since 2002, the United States have dismantled all agreements in this area signed during the Cold War era, in order to create new devastating weapons - first and foremost, intermediate-and shorter-range missiles.

"The understanding of the danger of these steps in the world is growing. Many countries have started contemplating adequate response measures. Overall, the issue of arms control is now a thing of the past, because the return to even a minimum level of trust is impossible due to the West’s double standard policy. And a working mechanism of mutual oversight would be impossible without trust," the head of the General Staff said.

Middle East

The situation in the Middle East is constantly degrading. "Risks are still there that the crisis may develop into a regional war."

The actual destruction of Syrian statehood became the most significant factor characterizing the situation in the region.

NATO drills

Russia attentively follows all NATO drills in the framework of strategic deterrence. The alliance held the Steadfast Defender exercise and redeployed major contingents, including US troops, to Russian borders, as well as deployed in Denmark a missile launcher with a range of 2.4 thousand kilometers.

The number of military exercises staged by NATO near Russian borders reached forty per year, Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov said.

"Intensified activity of NATO near Russian borders is noted amid higher tension. The number of large-scale military exercises of alliance’s member-countries reached forty activities per year. Numerous military contingents are staged near our borders on a permanent basis. The anti-Russian rhetoric is confirmed by the Steadfast Defender, the large-scale exercise of this year. All the countries of the alliance were involved in it, with practicing of issues of large-scale combat operations in the European continent," Gerasimov said.

Finland and Sweden became full-fledged members of NATO and the total number of member-countries reach 32 as a result of the "open doors" policy implementation in the alliance, he added.

Russian armed forces

The staff matrix of the Russian armed forces increased to 1.5 million servicemen.

Two combined arms armies, an army corps and 16 formations, as well as two military districts were formed in the Ground Forces in 2024. One new formation of the Aerospace Forces was also created.

The creation of the first regiment armed with S-500 air defense systems is nearing completion.

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