NATO continues eastward aggression: Analyst

NATO’s military deployment in the Baltic region under the pretext of protecting Ukraine against Russia is in line with the US-led military alliance’s eastward expansion, an analyst says.

“NATO is up to its eyeballs in its multi-decade aggression eastward to the Russian border,” Jim W. Dean wrote in a column for the Press TV website.

He said the countries in the Baltic region face no threat from Russia, adding that the post-coup government in Ukraine has staged a “big theatrical threat show” against Russia.

Russia has not invaded any European country in the past ten or twenty years, the analyst said.

“If Kiev cannot aggravate the situation into a more dangerous one, we always have NATO to call on,” he wrote.

NATO launched military drills in the Baltic country of Estonia on Monday with a record-breaking 6,000 troops, including American, British, and Estonian soldiers.

The US Marines will reportedly remain in Estonia until the end of this year. NATO has also deployed fighter jets and naval vessels to Lithuania and Poland.

Tensions between the Western powers and Moscow heightened after Crimea declared independence from Kiev and formally became part of the Russian Federation following a referendum in March.

The United States and its European allies accuse Russia of violating Ukraine’s sovereignty by stirring up pro-Russia protests in eastern Ukraine.

Russia denies the allegation, saying the protests have begun spontaneously against what it calls the illegitimate interim government in Kiev.