TEHRAN, January 24 (MNA) – NATO’s ambitions to expand, and to use Ukraine for waging a hybrid war threaten Russia’s military security, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said.To neutralize these threats, he said, the country’s leadership has set the task of adjusting the Armed Forces development plan.

"The Supreme Commander-in-Chief approved its parameters at an expanded Defense Ministry board meeting," Gerasimov said in an interview with the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper.

He also added that the newly approved Armed Forces development plan will guarantee the protection of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"The main goal behind this work is to guarantee our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to create conditions for progress in its social and economic development," he said.

Under the plan, approved by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief at an expanded Defense Ministry board meeting, the Moscow and the Leningrad military districts will be created.

Also, three motorized rifle divisions will be formed in the Kherson and the Zaporozhye regions, and an army corps will be built in the northwestern region of Karelia, Gerasimov said.

The United States and Western countries ramped up their military support for Ukraine since the start of the Ukraine war on February 24, 2022.

In April 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kyiv.

MNA/PR