NATO has announced it is sending more ships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe, a move Russia has called an “escalation” of tensions with Ukraine | Russia now has about 150,000 troops on the border with Ukraine
NATO has announced that it is putting forces on alert and strengthening Eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets, and could also send additional forces to its southeastern wing, in what Russia has condemned as an escalation of tensions over Ukraine.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that NATO would take “all necessary measures”. The move is another sign that the West is preparing for a situation where Russia will attack its neighbor after placing about 150,000 troops within reach of the Ukrainian border. “We will always respond to any deterioration of our security environment, including by strengthening our collective defense,” Stoltenberg said in a statement.
To date, NATO has about 5,000 troops in battalions in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, backed by tanks, air defenses and intelligence and surveillance units. Very short, if the NATO alliance exerts a quick response force.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed that a decision has not yet been made on whether to deploy the forces, and that any such deployment of U.S. troops in the eastern wing of NATO is to reassure the stressed U.S. allies.
Denmark, Spain, France and the Netherlands have all planned or considered sending troops, planes or ships to Eastern Europe, NATO said. Ukraine shares borders with four NATO countries: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the West of “hysteria” and publishing “consecutive lies.”
EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels have warned Russia it will face “massive” consequences, but disagree on how tough it is to be with Moscow and have not said what the consequences might be.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zalansky said by phone to EU President Charles Michel that it was important for Kiev that the EU show unity. “Ukraine will not fall for provocations, and together with its partners, will remain calm and restrained,” his office said.
Several countries, including France, Norway and Latvia, have recommended not traveling to Ukraine. A Russian source told Russian media that political advisers from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany would meet on Wednesday in Paris for talks on resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine, in which some 15,000 people have been killed since 2014. Previous efforts have failed to yield any breakthrough.