British forces are to play a leading role in the recently announced NATO deployment to Poland and the Baltic States.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:
“I confirm today that Britain will be leading one of four framework battalions to offer more Enhanced Forward Presence on the Eastern flank. We are sending a strong signal of unity and our determination to defend the Baltic states and Poland in the face of continued Russian aggression.”
NATO is to deploy four battalions to Poland and the Baltic states as part of a push back against Russia’s intervention in Ukraine, alliance head Jens Stoltenberg said Monday.
“We will agree to deploy by rotation four robust, multinational battalions in the Baltic states and Poland. This will send a clear signal that NATO stands ready to defend any ally.”
Russia’s annexation of the Crimea in 2014 and its support for ethnic Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine has made Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia increasingly anxious about their own security.
Asked about the possibility of an Russian attack, Lithuania’s Defence Minister Juozas Olekas told Reuters:
“We cannot exclude it. They might exercise on the borders and then switch to invasion in hours.”
Britain already undertakes the Baltic air-policing mission, this takes the form of air defence ‘Quick Reaction Alert’ in order to guard the airspace over the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
NATO stressed that the deployment, to be made on a rotational basis is not permanent so as not to infringe existing treaties with Russia, was part of a much wider response to the Ukraine crisis which includes tripling the NATO Response Force to 40,000 men ready to move at short notice, creating a Spearhead Force of about 5,000 on a just few days’ standby.
Luke Harris Daniel Wyeth
I don’t like this one bit. What have Russia done to us the UK? The existence of NATO gives America influence in Europe there lies problem number 1
Problem number 2, tensions are rising and not descelating and as I’ve mentioned on this site before Europe is weak politically and militarily. We are bullied over the Middle East, we are bullied into thinking China is a threat and we are bullied into thinking that Russia is a threat.
I reckon we ought to be reevaluating our alliance with America. After all we don’t have a $17 Trillion economy. Why are relations with Russia so poor? Why do the Americans think we are wrong in trying to engage with China economically? The Eastern flank would not be engaged in military practice if the EU and Americans actually respected Russian needs. Would Crimea be taken? Would Putin be in Syria? I see no detterence here to so called American might. The world’s in such a dangerous place. It’s about time UK, EU and America reflect on foreign policy past and present to move forward peacefully.
Putin is a major threat to world peace right now. Irrespective of what you think of the Americans; most of the world trusts the Americans much more than the Russians and thats not going to change. If you think that annexing part of another country, threatening Europe (especially the eastern part of Europe), supporting war in Ukraine is not a threat then maybe we should move our troops away from eastern Europe and trust Putin won’t destabilise more ex soviet states?
David Southern can’t you see most of the issues effecting our way of life are self inflicted.
I’m not bashing America either but please don’t get me started on trust. That’s a peach.
The whole militarization of Asia is due to US presence. The UK is not in the same league as the Americans nor are the Russians.
What is happening in the Mid East and Europe and China is all self inflicted as stated and we don’t have a military to cope. Believe what you will. There is a cost to spreading this so called freedom that we preech around the world and It effects us directly in services, NHS, housing, Budgets, Schools, Identity and rise of Islam, hate crimes. NEED ME TO GO ON?
“can’t you see most of the issues effecting our way of life are self inflicted” – yes!
we in the west make mistakes but i’d rather live in the UK than almost all of the counties in the world.
“The whole militarization of Asia is due to US presence” – yes!
But before them the evil British did the same thing and the next superpower (maybe China) will do the same.
From my point of view the world is the school playground. There are bullies, shy and quiet kids, gobshites etc. and theres the 90% who just want to get on with life. If you start throwing stones at the bullies then your going to get hurt; talk too much to the weird kids and you’ll get bullied. The problem is that we’ve now got the crazy kid with the the petrol can threatening to burn everyone to death unless they respect him. Unfortunately for him almost everyone does not respect him so now he threatens to burn the school down. What do you do? ignore him?
Putin keeps claiming NATO and the West are trying to destroy Russia but where is the logic? We could have crushed the Russian state in the late 90’s but we didn’t. We have progressively dismantled our armed forces since the mid 90’s and NATO until recently was at deaths door.
Putin (ironically) has done more for NATO, Halliburton, BAe, Boeing etc. than any western politician could have.
So getting back on track here… I’d rather hang around with the big bully who is a bit annoying and self obsessed than the lunatic with the petrol can!
I respect your opinion but if Putin has the patrol can then it can be said that NATO, the EU and Americans are carrying lighters that would ignite any trouble. I genuinely feel for the Eastern bloc as it seems they are dammed if they do and dammed if they don’t. If they side with EU they piss off the Russians, if they side with Russia it would mean they reject EU and NATO co-op. They can’t even be neutral. Using Sweden as an example.
Geo politics is in a mess. Putin is not daft but the boy who runs North Korea is and has the burden of history on his back.
Our military can’t cope yet we trained over 108 navies during the past two years. Putin is only dangerous because his country is cornerd.
And the only good thing to come out of Russia, is its Vodka. It’s image in sport is diminishing and with a weakened economy what do we do?, Top up the eastern flank. The way its all heading is the yanks after all might get to put all that fancy equipment to good use because as the factions try to get the Russian public to turn on Russian life and Putin, Putin blames it on us and the EU and the Americans.
Totally agree about the eastern bloc, they’re in a difficult position but I guess its their right to choose Russia or the West. The difference between Putin and Un is Putin has the capability to wipe out most of the planet before Russia becomes a smoking ruin. I think Russia is going through the same state of denial that Britain went through after the war. We were no longer a superpower but kept trying to convince ourselves we were. It took Suez to put us in our place and Russia has yet to learn that lesson thats its just a mediocre power only. Personally, I just wish we could all get on without the bickering and it seemed until Putin we were doing that; I’m annoyed that Putin has needlessly sowed the seed of hatred for at least another generation of Russians towards NATO and the West. My opinion is he’ll ultimately wreck Russia’s economy before the Russians see him for what he really is.
“Stand Up” the Royal Observer Corps!