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Russia Threatens to “Neutralize” NATO Activities as Alliance Launches Drills in Lithuania

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Vlad Litnarovych
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Russia Threatens to “Neutralize” NATO Activities as Alliance Launches Drills in Lithuania
A military parade is held in the Red Square as part of the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day, in Moscow, Russia on May 9, 2025. (Source: Getty Images)

Russia has threatened to “neutralize” NATO activities it views as hostile, as the alliance kicks off a series of major military exercises in Lithuania, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in comments to the state-run news agency TASS on May 13.

The warning coincides with the launch of Strong Shield 5, a multinational NATO training exercise running from May 12 to 18 in Lithuania’s Panevezys district, near the Latvian border.

A second and much larger exercise, Thunder Fortress 2025, will follow from May 13 to 27, bringing together roughly 8,000 troops, as well as dozens of ships and aircraft.

Speaking to TASS, Grushko characterized the exercises as clearly aimed at Russia and claimed they are part of the alliance’s broader efforts to prepare for a potential military confrontation.

“Against us,” Grushko said when asked who the drills are directed against.

“Measures are already being taken. They have been announced: two military districts are being re-established and a tank corps is being formed in Karelia,” he said, referring to Russia’s northwest region bordering Finland.

“Other measures will be taken as we deem necessary in order to negate all these attempts to project force in the direction of Russia,” Grushko stated, adding that “the [Russian] military is closely monitoring this.”

“And in any case, the interests of our security and defense capability will be guaranteed,” he concluded.

Grushko accused NATO of systematically trying to contain Russia and warned that the Kremlin would not let such moves go unanswered.

Moscow has routinely framed NATO activities as provocative and aggressive—even as it continues its own war of aggression against Ukraine, the largest war in Europe since World War II.

Earlier, Vice Admiral Pieter Reesink, director of the Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD, stated that the Netherlands was preparing for the possibility of a future conflict with Russia, believing Moscow could restore its military capabilities within a year of ending the war in Ukraine.

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