At a crucial summit in Spain today, Baltic leaders will urge NATO to send tens of thousands more troops to defend Europe’s eastern border out of concern that they may be the next target on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hit list after Ukraine.
To counter a full-scale Russian invasion, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania want 50,000 troops permanently stationed across their nations in place of the present 4,000-strong “tripwire” force.
It occurs amid worries that Putin would instruct his generals to grab a “land corridor” connecting Belarus and Kaliningrad along the crucial Suwalki Gap, preventing the Baltic States from receiving straightforward reinforcements.
In addition to the 300,000 troops that NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg indicated would be placed on “high alert” earlier this week, Britain, which already has 1,650 troops stationed in Estonia, would be required to contribute to such a force.
Aspirations in the Baltic states were given a boost this morning when US Vice President Joe Biden announced that the US would increase its forces and equipment throughout Europe.
He added that this would entail Washington working with Spain to increase the number of American warships stationed there from four to six and sending two more F-35 squadrons to Britain, as well as the establishment of a new permanent army headquarters in Poland.
In Poland, Romania, the Baltic states, and other locations throughout Europe, he also described modifications that will continue to increase the number of American personnel, air defenses, and other weapons.
The presence of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the NATO summit in Madrid is anticipated to be used to commit additional soldiers for Estonia, possibly more than doubling the current numbers.
It comes as horrifying new video demonstrating the moment a Ukrainian mall was obliterated by a Russian anti-ship missile has surfaced, disproving Kremlin claims that the mall unintentionally caught fire after it struck a nearby factory.
The Amstor mall in Kremenchuk, central Ukraine, was struck by what appears to be a guided AS-4 Kitchen missile just before 4 p.m. local time on Monday, according to surveillance footage. The missile was originally intended to target US aircraft carriers.
The incident resulted in at least 18 deaths.
The summit of NATO leaders comes as the organization struggles to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Although Ukraine is not a member of the alliance, it is encircled by allies, and many NATO nations have been providing arms to halt Russian advances.
That has led Russia to warn of a “de-facto” confrontation with NATO, which it claims might escalate into a nuclear Third World War, via its state media propaganda networks.
Poland, which has a lengthy land border with Ukraine, has received reinforcements from NATO and has accelerated purchases of American weapons of the newest generation in recent months in an effort to dissuade Russia from attacking.
The Baltic republics, which have long been seen as NATO’s weak spot, are also stepping up appeals for reinforcements to thwart any attack threat.
According to Estonia’s foreign ministry’s head of NATO relations, Kyllike Sillaste-Elling, “We need a new, more muscular posture that will greatly improve the deterrence and protection of the eastern flank.”
“Putin is unafraid.” We should consider what Putin has said regarding his strategic objectives, which include bringing up the former Soviet Union.
As a close neighbor, we cannot simply ignore those claims.
We are a tiny nation bordering Russia in the extreme northeast.
There is nowhere for us to hide; we have nowhere to go.
We must put as much in place as we can because of this.
Last week, as a result of Lithuania’s decision to block Russia from transporting products across its border in accordance with EU sanctions, concerns over the Suwalki Gap increased.
Between Belarus, a close friend of Russia, and Kaliningrad, an outpost of Russian territory on the Baltic Sea, the Lithuanian route was a crucial supply route.
The Suwalki Gap, which passes through Lithuania and Poland, two NATO members, connects Kaliningrad and Belarus.
They worry that Putin might invade the area quickly, reopen Kaliningrad’s supply routes, cut off the Baltic nations from mainland Europe, and make reinforcement much more difficult.
In order to prevent a Russian invasion, they are pleading with NATO to send in enough troops now rather than waiting until an attack has already begun.
As part of a so-called “tripwire” force, NATO had some 3,700 soldiers stationed in Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia when Russia invaded Ukraine in February of this year.
The aim is to deter any invasion for long enough for much larger forces, like the 300,000 “high alert” troops, to be brought into the fight, even though the force is far too tiny to defeat Russia in a fight.
Baltic leaders worry that if reinforcements don’t come before their countries are subsumed by Russia, the alliance will be forced to choose between trying to free them and accepting the new status quo.
Leaders believe that despite the low likelihood of a Russian strike while war is ongoing in Ukraine, the possibility must be treated seriously.
You can’t rule out the chance that Russia may launch an attack, according to Viktorija Starych-Samuoliene, a Lithuanian specialist and co-founder of the Council on Geostrategy, who spoke to The Times.
“The Suwalki Gap is actually the most straightforward target.” It is NATO’s vulnerable side.
The biggest error a policymaker can make is to simply discount the likelihood that something similar will occur.
With hacker collective Killnet conducting a days-long cyberattack on Lithuania last week that specifically targeted its financial, energy, and communications sectors, Russia has already started to threaten Lithuania.
Although Killnet has no formal affiliation with the Russian government, it is believed that the authorities have given their approval to certain of its actions.
Fake news stories and videos were also widely circulated on Lithuanian social media, giving the impression that the United States was getting ready to remove the nation from NATO’s Article 5 commitment, which would prevent the alliance from defending it in the event of an attack.
Leaders, who started to arrive in Madrid for the summit yesterday, declared last night that the alliance’s main goal is to bolster its defenses against Russia.
Johnson, the representative of Great Britain, said that NATO must reflect on “the lessons of the last few months” and “the necessity for NATO to rethink its posture on its eastern flank” as he arrived for meetings on Wednesday.
The NATO pledge to significantly expand its fast reaction force for nations closest to Russia, according to Polish President Andrzej Duda, will make Europe “safer.”
Russia is a threat to NATO as a whole, he declared, not just to Europe.
President Joe Biden stated this morning that in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States is strengthening its military posture in Europe over the long term.
Meeting with Jens Stoltenberg at the start of the annual leaders summit of the alliance in Madrid, Vice President Biden declared that the alliance is “strong and united” and that the actions that would be made at the meeting will “further augment our collective power.”
At order to kick off his participation in the summit, Biden declared that the United States will build a permanent headquarters in Poland, send two more squadrons of F-35 fighter jets to the United Kingdom, and increase its air defense and other capabilities in Germany and Italy.
He said: “Today I’m announcing the United States will bolster our collective security and respond to the changing threat environment by enhancing our force posture in Europe.”
Stoltenberg applauded Biden’s announcement, saying earlier on Wednesday that the alliance was facing its greatest challenge since World War II.
Thanking Biden for the “unwavering support from you and from the United States to Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said, “This really illustrates your decisive leadership and strength in the trans-Atlantic bond.”
According to Biden, this will improve US-NATO cooperation on the alliance’s eastern flank by permanently stationing the U.S. Army V Corps forward headquarters in Poland.
With this action, American forces will be permanently stationed on the eastern border of NATO. Additionally, the United States is increasing its rotating force deployments to the Baltic region, according to Biden.
Following his arrival for the conference on Tuesday, Biden declared that the United States would station a total of six destroyers at its naval base in Rota, Spain.
More than 100,000 American service men are currently stationed across Europe, an increase of nearly 20,000 since four months ago, just before to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
As leaders prepared to accept a new strategic framework, announce a number of measures to increase their defense expenditures and capabilities, and pave the way for historically neutral Finland and Sweden to join NATO, Biden predicted that this week’s sessions will result in a “history-making summit.”
According to Biden, Putin anticipated that after invading Ukraine, NATO members would split up, but the reverse happened.
Putin sought to “Finlandize” Europe, according to Biden. “You’re going to see Europe become more NATO-centric.” And while it’s exactly what must be done to ensure Europe’s security, he didn’t want it.
When Turkey, which was also worried about a Russian invasion, decided to support Finland and Sweden entering the alliance, summit negotiations got off to a good start.
Because Finland and Sweden support Kurdish “terrorist groups,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been opposed to the move. However, he backed down last night after weeks of pressure, claiming he “received what he wanted” from them.
Thus, the swift entry of the two Scandinavian countries into the alliance with their tens of thousands of troops strategically stationed just across the Baltic Sea and their advanced armament is all but guaranteed.
I am happy to announce that we have reached an agreement that will allow Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO,’ Stoltenberg said.
“A agreement addressing Turkey’s concerns, notably around arms exports and the battle against terrorism, has been signed by Turkey, Finland, and Sweden.”