Stoltenberg: NATO will deploy additional combat forces in Poland and the Baltic states
Since Russia is taking “aggressive” actions on its territory and in Belarus, NATO countries must strengthen military groups in Poland and the Baltic states.
This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a briefing following a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“We discussed the scaling of Russian forces around the territory of Ukraine. Russia has deployed one hundred thousand personnel with various capabilities, including medical support, logistics support, and command and control.
We expect that thirty thousand Russian personnel will be transferred to Belarus. This is the biggest build-up since the Cold War. Such deployments are unjustified, not transparent, and are located close to NATO borders.
Moreover, Russia has postponed its annual nuclear exercises to this month. And we have seen before that Russia uses its exercises as a cover for aggressive actions.
NATO must remain prepared and vigilant. We have already increased our presence in the eastern part of the alliance, and also increased the readiness of NATO response forces.
We are also considering the possibility of deploying additional battle groups on the southeastern flanks of our alliance,” Stoltenberg said.
In turn, Andrzej Duda said that he proposed to the NATO Secretary General to further strengthen the eastern flanks of the Alliance.
“We see what is happening. Now Russia is increasing its presence, now even more troops are arriving at the Russian-Ukrainian border. And they are also being deployed in Belarus. Military exercises are already planned there.
We are concerned about this situation, because such a military presence changes the security architecture in Europe, especially if these troops do not return to their places of deployment after the end of the exercises,” he said.
The President of Poland added that the military border between NATO and the Russian Federation is actually increasing by one hundred thousand kilometers - at the expense of Belarus.
“There is also a need to strengthen the eastern flank along its entire length. This is especially true for Poland, the Baltic states and our southern neighbors. We must strengthen the entire eastern flank, this is justified now,” Duda urged.
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