This is not the time to withdraw troops from Europe
Neither the defense nor the foreign ministry had provided forewarning of the impending exercise as has usually been the case. The exercise included the dual capable Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic missile that Russia deployed to Belarus for the first time last year. Three days after the exercise ended, Russia fired a non-nuclear Oreshnik that hit the Ukrainian city of Bila Tserkva near Kyiv.
- ▪Neither the defense nor the foreign ministry had provided forewarning of the impending exercise as has usually been the case.
- ▪The exercise included the dual capable Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic missile that Russia deployed to Belarus for the first time last year.
- ▪Three days after the exercise ended, Russia fired a non-nuclear Oreshnik that hit the Ukrainian city of Bila Tserkva near Kyiv.
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Opinion>Opinions - National Security The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill This is not the time to withdraw troops from Europe Comments: by Dov Zakheim, opinion contributor - 05/29/26 10:30 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Dov Zakheim, opinion contributor - 05/29/26 10:30 AM ET Comments: Link copied Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP On May 19, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the commencement of a major exercise consisting of 64,000 personnel and 7,800 units, “including more than 200 missile launchers, more than 140 aircraft, 73 surface ships and 13 submarines, including 8 strategic missile submarines.” The ministry added that “during the exercise, the issues of joint training and use of nuclear weapons deployed on the…
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