NATO announced that it was putting soldiers on standby and bolstering Eastern Europe with extra ships and fighter jets, as well as the possibility of sending additional troops to its southeast flank, in a move that Russia condemned as an escalation of tensions over Ukraine.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that NATO would take “all necessary actions” in response to a string of deployments announced by alliance countries in recent days.
The move was yet another hint that the West is ready for a Russian strike after Russia amassed an estimated 100,000 troops within striking distance of Ukraine’s border.
In a statement, Stoltenberg said, “We will always respond to any deterioration of our security environment, including by bolstering our collective defence.”
Later, he said during a press conference that the increased presence on NATO’s eastern border might involve the deployment of more NATO battlegroups.
“We’re thinking about having battlegroups… in the alliance’s southeast,” Stoltenberg added.
NATO currently maintains some 4,000 troops in multinational battalions in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland, backed up by tanks, air defences, and intelligence and surveillance.
Russia has rejected any invasion plans. However, after orchestrating the situation by surrounding Ukraine with armies from the north, east, and south, Moscow is now touting the Western response as proof that Russia is the aggressor, not the aggressor.
The US military announced on Monday that it has placed up to 8,500 troops on alert, ready to deploy to Europe at a moment’s notice if NATO activates a quick response force.
To calm worried allies, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby reiterated that no decision had been taken on whether or not to deploy the troops, and that any such deployment would be distinct from intra-European rotations of US forces to NATO’s eastern flank.
The White House said that US President Joe Biden will hold a video conversation with European leaders later Monday as part of coordination with allies in response to Russia’s buildup on Ukraine’s borders.