NATO sends planes and ships to Eastern Europe and puts its troops on alert for Russia

The OTAN is sending more ships and planes to the eastern flank of the Alliance to “improve deterrence and defense” in that area and its forces are being put “on alert,” the organization said Monday, given the increase in tension over the Russian military concentration near the border of Ukraine and the possible military intervention of Moscow in the former Soviet republic.

The OTAN He specified today in a statement that the allies are putting their forces “in a state of alert” and sending “additional ships and combat aircraft to the deployments of the OTAN in Eastern Europe, bolstering Allied deterrence and defense as Russia continues its military buildup in and around Ukraine”.

“In recent days, a number of allies have made announcements about current or future deployments”, highlighted NATO.

In that sense, he pointed out that Spain “is sending ships to join the NATO naval forces and is considering sending combat aircraft to Bulgaria.”

Last week the frigate departed for the Black Sea Blas de Lezo and the minesweeper Meteor.

In addition, the Spanish Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, stated on Thursday that the possibility of an air deployment in Bulgaria in which Spain participates is being assessed, which would be added to the one it is part of each year in Lithuania.

The Blas de Lezo frigate plans to join the SNMG-2, one of the NATO naval groups, in regular maneuvers that were already planned for this year and that the Spanish authorities decided to bring forward.

The Alliance added today that Denmark is sending a frigate to the Baltic Sea and will deploy four F-16 fighter jets to Lithuania in support of NATO’s air surveillance mission in the region.

“France has expressed its readiness to send troops to Romania under NATO command. The Netherlands will send two F-35 fighter jets to Bulgaria from April to support NATO air surveillance activities in the region, and will put a ship and ground units on standby for the NATO Response Force. ”, exposed the Alliance.

He added that the United States “has also made it clear that it is considering increasing its military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance.”

“I welcome allies to contribute additional forces to NATO. NATO will continue to take all necessary measures to protect and defend all Allies, also strengthening the Eastern part of the Alliance. We will always respond to any deterioration in our security environment, including by strengthening our collective defense,” Allied Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

NATO stressed that it is a “defensive” alliance and that in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 it increased its presence on the eastern flank.

In this sense, he mentioned the four multinational battalions, ready for combat, deployed in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland

He also assured that there were no NATO forces in the eastern part of the Alliance before 2014.

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