NATO sends reinforcements to Eastern Europe amid Russia tensions
NATO said it was putting forces on standby and reinforcing Eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets, and could also send additional troops to its southeast flank, in what Russia denounced as an escalation of tensions over Ukraine.
Welcoming a series of deployments announced by alliance members in recent days, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday NATO would take “all necessary measures”.
The move was a further sign that the West is bracing for Russia to attack its neighbour after massing an estimated 100,000 troops in reach of the Ukrainian border.
“We will always respond to any deterioration of our security environment, including through strengthening our collective defence,” Stoltenberg said in a statement.
He later told a news conference that the enhanced presence on NATO’s eastern flank could include the deployment of additional NATO battlegroups.
“We are considering also to have battlegroups … in the southeast of the alliance,” Stoltenberg said.
So far, NATO has about 4,000 troops in multinational battalions in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, backed by tanks, air defences and intelligence and surveillance units.
Russia has denied planning an invasion. But, having engineered the crisis by surrounding Ukraine with forces from the north, east and south, Moscow is now citing the Western response as evidence to support its narrative that Russia is the target, not the instigator, of aggression.
The US military said on Monday it has put up to 8,500 troops on alert to be ready to deploy to Europe, potentially at very short notice, should the NATO alliance activate a rapid response force.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed that no decision had yet been made on whether to deploy the troops, and that any such deployment would separate from intra-European movements of US troops to NATO’s eastern flank, to reassure nervous allies
US President Joe Biden will hold a video call with European leaders later on Monday as part of the coordination with allies to respond to Russia’s build-up on Ukraine’s borders, the White House said.
END