US President Joe Biden and fellow NATO leaders assembled in Madrid Wednesday to unveil a significant strengthening of forces along the alliance’s eastern flank as Russia’s war in Ukraine shows no signs of slowing.
Speaking alongside NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, Biden listed new troop movements, equipment shipments and military installations meant to demonstrate the importance of security in the face of Moscow’s aggression.
“The United States and our allies, we are going to step up — we are stepping up. We’re proving that NATO is more needed now than it ever has been and is as important as it ever has been,” Biden said.
Biden said the US would:
- Establish a permanent headquarters for the Fifth Army Corps in Poland
- Maintain an extra rotational brigade of 3,000 troops in Romania
- Enhance rotational deployments to the Baltic states
- Send two more F-35 fighter jet squadrons to the United Kingdom
- Station additional air defense and other capabilities in Germany and Italy
“Together with our allies, we are going to make sure that NATO is ready to meet threats from all directions — across every domain, land, air and the sea,” Biden said.
“No communication with Moscow”: The US did not convey to Russia its plans to bolster its force posture in Europe ahead of time.
“There has been no communication with Moscow about these changes nor is there a requirement to do that,” John Kirby, the NSC coordinator for strategic communications, said after Biden announced the series of measures.
A second official told reporters the announcements did not violate any agreements between Russia and NATO, which stipulate parameters for positioning troops in Europe.
