Russia's Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said late on Monday that the new plan on changes to the country's armed forces considers possible NATO expansion and the use of Ukraine against Russia.
"The plan is approved by the President of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Putin) and can be adjusted when existing and new threats to the military security of the Russian Federation change," Gerasimov told the news website Argumenty Fakty.
"Today, such threats include the aspirations of the North Atlantic Alliance to expand to Finland and Sweden, as well as the use of Ukraine as a tool for waging a hybrid war against our country."