NATO countries have placed standby forces and sent ships and fighter jets to bolster their defenses in Eastern Europe against Russian military activity on Ukraine’s borders, NATO said on Monday. Alliance in a press release.
“NATO will continue to take all necessary measures to protect and defend all Allies, including strengthening the eastern part of the Alliance. We will always respond to any deterioration in our security environment, including by strengthening our collective defence,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“Denmark is sending a frigate to the Baltic Sea and is preparing to deploy four F-16 fighter jets to Lithuania to support NATO’s longstanding air policing mission in the region,” the statement said.
“Spain is sending ships to join NATO naval forces and is considering sending combat aircraft to Bulgaria,” the statement added.
“France has declared itself ready to send troops to Romania under NATO command. The Netherlands is sending two F-35 fighter jets to Bulgaria from April to support NATO air policing in the region, and is putting a ship and ground units on standby for the NATO Response Force. ‘NATO’, details the press release.
“The United States has also clearly indicated that it plans to increase its military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance,” NATO said.
“Since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, NATO has strengthened its presence in the eastern part of the alliance, including with four multinational battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland,” reminds NATO.
“These units, led by the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and the United States respectively, are multinational and combat-ready,” the Alliance said.
“Their presence makes it clear that an attack on one Ally will be considered an attack on the whole Alliance,” NATO warns. There were no NATO forces in the eastern part of the Alliance before 2014, the statement said.
Russia accuses NATO of ‘exacerbating’ tensions
The Kremlin has accused NATO and the United States of “exacerbating” tensions by deciding to deploy warships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe.
“Tensions are heightened by announcements and concrete actions by the United States and NATO,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters about the deployment of new Alliance forces in Eastern Europe. the East, before also judging “very high” the risk of an offensive by Kiev against the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.