Russia Increases Military Activities, Defense Secretary Austin: The United States Stands With Our Allies

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. (Wikimedia Commons/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Anthony J. Rivera)

JAKARTA - United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin compared Russia's military moves to a snake preparing to attack Ukraine as military activity increases, saying the United States will defend its allies, along with criticism of Russia's launch of strategic missile drills.

Austin, speaking on a trip to Lithuania, said he agreed with President Joe Biden's assessment on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had made the decision to launch a new invasion of Ukraine.

"They disengaged and are now ready to attack," Austin said at a news conference in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.

Austin, a retired Army general, warned Moscow could move into Ukraine at any time, as he mentioned the kind of military capability Russia has amassed and repositioned near Ukraine.

Russian strategic military exercise. (Twitter/@mod_russia screenshot)

"Having done this before, I can tell you that's what you need to attack and the attitude you need to attack."

Moscow, which has amassed tens of thousands of troops near the border with Ukraine and pressed security demands on the United States and NATO, has denied having any plans to attack its neighbor.

Austin vowed Washington would support his Baltic allies, but declined to answer whether he would answer Lithuania's call for additional troops.

"I want everyone in Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia to know, and I want President (Vladimir) Putin in the Kremlin to know that the United States supports our allies," he told a news conference in Vilnius, after the talks. with Lithuanian leaders.

As previously reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched drills by a strategic nuclear missile force on Saturday, while Washington said Russian troops converging near the Ukrainian border were "ready to strike".

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko observe Russian military exercises. (Source: Kremlin.ru)

President Putin sat watching the drills on screen together with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, from what the Kremlin describes as a 'situation control center'.

Russia's move has drawn concerns from the United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. He said the nuclear drills sparked concern among defense leaders around the world, given the Russian military's focus on a massive force build-up around Ukraine.

"When you add a very sophisticated exercise with a strategic nuclear force, it complicates things to the point where you could have an accident or an error," he said.

For information, the Kremlin said all missiles launched by Russia's strategic forces in the exercise, whether launched from land, sea, or air, successfully hit targets, in exercises that President Putin directly supervised, as reported by TASS.

The types of missiles successfully launched include Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles, and Tsirkon hypersonic missiles, Iskander land-based cruise missiles, Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles, air-launched cruise missiles from the Tu-95MS strategic long-range missile carrier bomber, to missiles. The Sineva ballistic missile was launched by a nuclear-powered strategic submarine.