NATO leaders are preparing to approve “major increases” in the number of forces positioned in Eastern European countries, deploying four new battle groups to Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, according to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
“I expect leaders will agree to strengthen NATO’s posture in all domains, with major increases in the eastern part of the alliance on land, in the air and at sea,” Stoltenberg said during a press conference on Wednesday.
Stoltenberg added that he expects NATO allies to “agree to provide additional support including cybersecurity assistance, as well as equipment to help Ukraine protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.”
“Any use of chemical weapons would totally change the nature of the conflict and it would be a blatant violation of international law and it would have far-reaching consequences,” Stoltenberg noted.
Stoltenberg then called on Russia to end its “nuclear saber-rattling,” adding, “Russia must understand that a nuclear war should never be fought and they can never win a nuclear war.”
The U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, additionally said that a “longer-term” stationing of troops in Eastern Europe is being considered.
“NATO is in the process now of stepping back and thinking more about a medium and longer-term force presence in NATO territory on that eastern flank,” Smith said.
“Permanent stationing could be one solution, or persistent rotations as another option, that could be on the table. So at this point, what we need to do is have our military commanders give us the best advice that they can come to us with specific proposals and then as an alliance, look at what the security environment requires,” Smith added.
