The official said in an interview with the TASS news agency that NATO is conducting its largest exercises in recent decades near Russia’s borders for the second consecutive year.

The maneuvers involve practicing offensive action scenarios across a wide area from Vilnius to Odessa, the seizure of the Kaliningrad region, the blockade of shipping in the Baltic and Black Seas, as well as preemptive strikes against permanent bases of Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces, Patrushev said.

The official also drew attention to threats from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is trying to intimidate Moscow with the “questionable power of the British Navy and the nuclear weapons aboard its submarines.”

Starmer is supported by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and other officials, the Russian presidential advisor added.

jrr/llp/lam/gfa