The Western corporate media often reports that Russian tanks, cannons, armored vehicles, and thousands of soldiers in the uniform of the Russian Armed Forces are spotted in pro-Western nations of the world. What’s even worse is that such statements are being made by various high-profile politicians in Washington, at NATO headquarters, and in the capitals of various European states.
Just recently, while speaking in front of soldiers of the Ukraine Armed Forces, President Poroshenko announced that the territory of his country is allegedly occupied by 700 Russian tanks, 1,250 artillery systems, more than 1,000 armored vehicles and 300 high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS).
Against the background of a supposed “imminent Russian threat,” some Baltic states have released manuals for children titled ‘A guide to fighting Russian aggressors. ” In late November, according BaltNews.lv., a delegation consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Defence, civil militias as well as troops from the 173rd Infantry Brigade of the US Army gave a lecture to Latvian students on “how to protect the country in the event of a Russian attack.” Moreover, such lectures have been delivered to Latvian minors for years. During their previous tour, from April 2015 to April 2016, military forces visited 100 Latvian schools.
It should be noted that the myth of the “Russian threat” is not only being fabricated by the Western media, but also by military units both in the US and the UK which are tasked with staging fake “aggression” events.
Previously, NEO has reported about the Internet being filled with pictures of American military pilots rushing towards US warplanes closely resembling Russia’s Su-34, painted in a recognizable light blue paint scheme that has never been used in the US military, but is routinely used by the Russian Air Force.
But today, it is no secret that US military Special Forces are trying to mimic Russian armed forces by using “Russian” military equipment. This role is officially being played by the 11th Armored Cavalry Regimen of the US Armed Forces known as the Black Horse, which has partially been reorganized around the Russian model of deployment and is equipped with armored vehicles that resemble those used by the Russian Armed Forces. The US Army needs “professional aggressors” yet again that would be able to impersonate an enemy during military games and staged provocations across Europe. For this purpose, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regimen has been equipped with M113 armored vehicles that are built to resemble the Russian BMP-2 and BRDM-2.
Judging by the press-releases of the 11th Regiment, all of these vehicles are being routinely used, participating in the military games with the 3rd Armoured Brigade and the 1st Armoured Brigade of the 34th Infantry Division. Earlier squadrons of the regiment participated in training battles with a special unit of the US Army – the so-called Stryker Brigade Combat Team. All in all, the Black Horse runs 15 “educational games” a year.
After the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in 2011, “professional aggressors” have returned to impersonating a certain average “imaginary enemy” until the Ukrainian crisis broke out, causing an increase in tension in Europe.
A few months earlier the US Air Force published pictures of F-16 of the special “aggressors” 64 Squadron in Nevada. Its aircraft received paint schemes that weren’t simply imitating Russian jets, but wore visible red stars on wings and tail, that are traditional for Russia’s military.
Washington has also urged the creation of special “aggressor” units in foreign armies, such as the British, South Korean, and Israeli armed forces. Recently, the Salisbury Plain saw British troops striking back “aggressor” units that resembled “Russian forces”, which recreated an imaginary invasion of Estonia. The “aggressors” were armed with old Polish produced T-72 and T-55 tanks brought from museums.
As US military units are swarming the territories of the Baltic States and in several other countries in Eastern Europe, such “aggressors units” can successfully impersonate Russian troops to create fake “evidence of an imminent Russian threat”. So before believing such reports, or the statements made by individual European politicians like Poroshenko, think about this first.
Martin Berger is a freelance journalist and geopolitical analyst, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”