In a meeting held this Friday by videoconference, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, and the other leaders of the Atlantic Alliance agreed to carry out new “additional defensive deployments of forces on the eastern flank” of Europe.
NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, US General Tod Wolters, then activated for the first time in its history his multinational Response Force made up of allied ground, air, sea and special operations troops, which can be rapidly deployed in defense of The alliance.
President Biden has made it clear that US troops are being deployed to Eastern Europe to help bolster NATO countries and not to enter Ukraine, which defends itself.
Biden participated in the urgent NATO meeting after the partners invoked Article 4 of the Washington Treaty, which allows consultations when at least one partner fears for its territorial integrity, political independence or security.
In the statement issued later by the partners, joined by Finland and Sweden as guests, they said that “peace on the European continent has been fundamentally shattered.” According to the partners: “President Putin’s decision to attack Ukraine is a terrible strategic mistake, for which Russia will pay a heavy price, both economically and politically, for years to come. Massive and unprecedented sanctions have already been imposed on Russia
The Pentagon is preparing to send an additional 7,000 troops to Germany to bolster NATO defenses, Biden announced Thursday, hours after the Russian attack began. They join some 7,000 US troops sent in recent weeks to NATO countries, including Ukraine’s neighbors, who fear Putin could turn his forces on them next.
Eight F-35 fighter jets and 32 Apache attack helicopters have also been moved from the US, which were already in Europe, to the Baltic states and NATO’s eastern flank.
