"Our army must be prepared to face the high-end and advanced combat power of an aggressive Russia, or more likely, Russian aggression employed by surrogate actors," Murphy stated.
In a requested 2017 budget of $121.5 billion, the Army Secretary warned that the service is "mortgaging future readiness" to fight a high-end adversary in order to maintain current readiness so as to continue the fight against terrorism.
Russia has repeatedly refuted the accusations of aggression and characterized as unacceptable such attempts to portray the country as an enemy. Moreover, Moscow has warned that US and NATO amassing of military personnel and equipment on Russia’s borders is provocative and contrary to previously reached agreements, and can cause regional and global destabilization.
