The Pentagon has sent six nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to Europe for
training exercises with European NATO member nations, in a move which
officials are presenting as a “message” to Russia.
Though officials tried to present this as a response to Russian
“aggression,” in practice Russia hasn’t done anything in quite some
time. Rather, the deployment appears to be timed to the fifth year
anniversary of Crimea’s accession into the Russian Federation, which the
US opposes.
The nuclear bombers will be operating out of RAF Fairford in Britain for
the time being. This isn’t the only set of B-52 US bombers being
positioned within range of Russia, however, with another set exercises
in the north Pacific, off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.
Potentially nuclear-related deployments are likely to add to pressure
for Russia to add to its own deployments in western Russia, as they
attempt to retain some sort of deterrence as the US works on
intermediate-range missiles and threatens more deployments into Europe.
Pentagon Sends B-52 Bombers to Europe for Exercises Amid Tensions With Russia
More nuke-capable bombers training off Russia's Pacific coast
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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