The threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine has placed greater importance on US and NATO defenses across Eastern Europe, which have served as a buffer between Russia and the West for many years. decade.
NATO has four battalion-sized multinational armies in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, operating on a rotating basis. Each side is led by Britain, Canada, Germany or the United States, and includes troops from several member states. Last month, the coalition said all four groups were “strong and ready to fight.”
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also said it was ready to rapidly bolster that presence further by sending more forces and capabilities into the region.
And the NATO deployment is supported by the US military.
The US has bases of its own in Lithuania and Romania, along with several bases in Poland. President Joe Biden last week formally approved the deployment of 3,000 more US troops to Poland, Germany and Romania, with another 8,500 on high alert.
NATO does not have any troops in Ukraine and there are no announced plans to send troops from the alliance into the country.
But although Ukraine is not a member of NATO, the alliance also provides strategic advice to the country and has described the relationship as “one of NATO’s most important partnerships.”
Other assets that NATO locates in the region include a missile defense system in Romania, designed to “detect, track, attack and destroy” ballistic missiles in the atmosphere. A similar facility in Poland will come into operation this year.
