The U.K. and London want to send 350 troops to Poland and Lithuania to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said that against the backdrop of the situation around Ukraine, Berlin will send another 350 soldiers and officers to Lithuania to numerically strengthen the contingent of the North Atlantic Alliance. According to her, of the Bundeswehr troops being deployed to the east of Europe, 250 serve in the ground forces, and the remaining 100 serve in other branches of the military. In total, there are about 1,200 NATO troops in Lithuania.
British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said that London also plans to increase the number of military contingents in Poland by 350 people. Wallace noted that the military will be stationed there to demonstrate the ability of countries to cooperate and “send a clear signal that the UK and Poland are standing shoulder to shoulder.”
“We are stepping up our support on NATO’s eastern flank. We have just informed the Bundestag that up to 350 additional troops could be deployed to the battle group in Lithuania. [German Defense Minister Christine] Lambrecht agreed this with partners in the Baltics”, the British Defense Minister said.
Earlier, Wallace said that London intends to deploy Typhoon fighters of the Royal Air Force (Air Force) and ships of the Navy (Navy) in South-Eastern Europe. According to him, the allies of the North Atlantic Alliance agreed to work together to “contain” Russia and prevent Moscow’s “invasion” of the territory of Ukraine.
In recent months, Ukraine and Kiev’s Western partners have been saying that Russia is allegedly preparing an “attack” on Ukrainian territory. Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov stressed that such statements are “a senseless escalation of tension” and have no evidence base. The Kremlin spokesman also stressed that Moscow is moving its troops exclusively on Russian territory and does not threaten anyone.